>•-.--> 


GIFT  OF 
Professor  G.R.  Noyes 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM 


BY 


FLORENCE   TRAIL 


"  I  cannot  praise  a  fugitive  and  cloistered  viitue  unexercised 
and  unbreathed,  that  never  sallies  out  and  sees  her  adversary, 
but  slinks  out  of  the  race  where  that  immortal  garland  is  to 
be  run  for,  not  without  dust  and  heat." 

Milton's  Areopagiticdi  II,  411 — 12. 


NEW  YORK: 
WORTHING TON     COMPANY, 

747  BROADWAY. 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

FLORENCE    TRAIL 


GIFT  OF 


To 

MARY  R.   MINES,    ELIZABETH  W.  MINES, 
NETTIE  B.  WALLACE  &  ALICE  CONKLIN, 

Whose    disinterested  love 

has  been  the  solace 

of  my  life, 

I  DEDICATE 

THIS  ATTEMPT  TO   REALIZE   BUT  ONE 

OF  THE  GENEROUS   ASPIRATIONS 

THEY    HAVE    CHERISHED 

FOR   ME. 


899710 


CONTENTS. 


"  POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER." ^ i 

GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE 38 

GENIUS  AND  RELIGION 109 

GENIUS  AND  MORALITY 152 

HISTORY  IN  LITERATURE 219 

SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART 253 

THE  DECLINE  OF  ART 294 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


"POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER." 

"WHAT  is  the  hardest  task  in  the  world?  "  asks 
Emerson. 

"To  think,"  is  the  prompt,  laconic  reply. 

But  that  which  demands  our  best  energies  and 
greatest  abilities  must  be  well  worth  doing,  a  right 
noble  undertaking? 

It  is  more.  The  task  which  is  the  hardest  presses 
upon  us  with  the  greatest  weight  of  obligation. 

Look  the  truth  unflinchingly  in  the  face  :  the  fact 
that  any  task  is  hard  is  the  very  reason  we  dare  not 
shirk  it :  the  little  loophole  that  it  might  be  shirked 
because  it  is  hard  lets  in  the  one  ray  of  daylight 
whereby  we  see  and  recognize  the  subterfuge.  The 
more  the  sluggish  nature  shrinks  from  exertion,  the 
more  does  the  awakened  conscience  enforce  the  duty 
of  exertion.  Let  the  moral  conviction  only  be  gen- 
uine, and  the  inferior  nature  will  inevitably  be  car- 
ried farther  than  the  superior  one ;  by  the  very 
I 


2  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

weight  of  the  pressure  which  the  new  force  must 
exert  to  displace  the  old. 

I  have  chosen  as  the  title  of  this  special  Essay, 
and  as  that  which  shall  throw  a  direct  influence  upon 
those  following  it,  a  clause  in  our  English  Psalter 
which  always  plunges  me  into  a  profound  reverie, 
so  much  the  more  wonderfully  full  of  meaning  does 
it  appear  the  oftener  the  familiar  words  fall  on  my 
ear. 

The  officiating  clergyman  reads  : 

"  Blessed  is  the  man  whose  strength  is  in  Thee ; 
in  whose  heart  are  Thy  ways." 

And  the  people  respond :  (implying  Blessed  are 
they) 

"  Who  going  through  the  vale  of  misery  use  it  for 
a  well :  and  the  pools  are  filled  with  water." 

The  language,  forcible  in  its  primary  meaning 
chiefly  to  those  living  in  Eastern  countries,  con- 
veying in  its  comprehensiveness  a  vivid  idea  of  all 
that  is  involved  in  the  refreshment  and  invigora- 
tion  of  water  to  the  thirsty,  weary  traveller  of  those 
lands,  is  full  of  a  grand  typical  significance  for  the 
thoughtful  of  all  ages  and  all  lands.  As  there  are 
few  wells,  and  as  little  rain  falls  in  those  countries, 
the  traveller  must  meet  with  repeated  disappoint- 
ments, the  bitterest  being  that  of  finding  wells  with- 
out water : — of  seeing  his  hopes  dashed  to  the 
ground  just  as  every  indication  promises  their  real- 
ization. 

The  inspired  writer  declares  that  the  man  whose 


"  POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WA  TER."  3 

strength  is  in  God,  in  whose  heart  the  laws  and 
commandments  of  God  are  treasured,  may  regard 
everything  that  enters  into  the  course  of  his  earthly 
pilgrimage  as  a  means  of  animation  and  invigora- 
tion  :  and  adds,  with  an  emphasis  which  cannot  be 
misunderstood,  that  the  special  sources  from  which 
such  a  man  has  a  right  to  look  for  refreshment  and 
enjoyment  arc  filled  with  satisfying  and  delightful 
effluences. 

Few  pursuits  have  been  more  derided  than  that 
of  Metaphysical  study.  I  do  not  intend  to  put  in 
any  plea  for  it.  Let  those  who  can,  face  the  fright- 
ful irony  in  the  idea  that  we  get  the  least  out  of  that 
from  which  we  have  a  right  to  expect  the  most. 
The  danger  of  thinking  is,  of  course,  only  exceeded 
by  one  other  danger — that  of  not  thinking,  the 
consequences  of  which  all,  alike,  wish  to  be  excused 
from  contemplating.  But  of  the  many  grand  and 
glorious  sources  of  enjoyment  which  we  come  upon 
in  our  journey  through  life,  many  will  agree  with  me 
that  the  most  lasting,  unfailing  and  reliable  are  in- 
tellectual enjoyments,  and  that  if  this  be  granted, 
the  highest  of  such  enjoyments  must  be  that  in 
which  the  intellect  is  supreme.  Metaphysical  sci- 
ence, not  only  as  the  foundation  and  essential  estab- 
Usher  of  all  other  sciences,  but  as  it  is  in  its  owni 
nature — an  inquiry  into  the  Philosophy  of  the  mind 
itself — demands  the  highest  abilities,  imposes  the 
weightiest  obligations  and  holds  out  the  most  indis-. 


4  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM.- 

putable  rewards  which  the  mind  of  man  has  yet 
proved  to  be  discoverable. 

In  a  sense  which  cannot  be  affirmed  of  any  other 
science,  no  valuable  contribution  once  made  to  Met- 
aphysics has  ever  been  wholly  set  aside.  The 
hypotheses  of  many  other  branches  of  knowledge 
have  been  found  to  be  not  only  untenable,  but  en- 
tirely contradictory  of  the  truth  subsequently  discov- 
ered and  to  have  been  stumbling-blocks  to  the  ulti- 
mate acquisition  of  truth.  But  in  every  formal  Met- 
aphysical treatise  we  find  the  speculations  of  Plato, 
Abelard,  Descartes  as  fully  dwelt  upon  as  those  of 
Stuart  Mill,  Sir  William  Hamilton  and  Herbert 
Spencer ;  and  not  for  purposes  of  comparison,  re- 
jection, derision  or  sublimation,  but  as  the  compo- 
nent parts  of  one  great  system  or  province  of 
thought,  not  one  feature  of  which  can  be  slighted  by 
the  student  with  impunity.  Plato  still  remains  "  the 
greatest  thinker  that  ever  lived,"  not  in  virtue  of 
chronological  priority,  not  relatively,  not  condition- 
ally ;  but  absolutely,  positively,  incontestably.  By  a 
kind  of  poetic  justice  not  often  encountered  in  Bio- 
graphical History,  time  has  had  no  power  over  those 
who  have  proved  that  the  idea  of  time  may  be  oblit- 
erated from  the  mind  by  the  number  and  magnitude 
of  man's  thoughts  in  this  life. 

We  do  not  allow  that  the  mind  really  thinks  until, 
rising  above  all  that  can  address  it  through  the 
senses  or  be  predicated  in  material  symbols,  it  bends 
its  energies  to  the  investigation  of  its  own  phenom- 


"POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER? 


5 


ena,  laws,  powers  and  limits,  and  draws  the  proof  of 
individual,  personal,  separate  existence  from  its  own 
consciousness.  Consciousness  is  not  only  the  sole 
guarantee  of  mental  sanity,  but  the  test  of  being. 
Pascal  has  rested  all  the  dignity  of  our  being  upon 
this  single  prop.  "  Man  is  but  a  reed,"  he  says, 
"  the  weakest  thing  in  nature  :  but  he  is  a  thinking 
reed.  It  is  not  necessary  that  trm  entire  universe 
should  arm  itself  to  crush  him.  A  vapor,  a  drop  of 
water  suffices  to  kill  him.  But  when  the  universe 
does  crush  him,  man  will  still  be  nobler  than  that 
which  kills  him,  because  he  knows  that  he  dies,  and 
the  advantage  which  the  universe  has  over  him  it 
knows  nothing  of." 

John  Stuart  Mill,  whom  Dr.  McCosh  calls  "the 
ablest  opponent  of  intuitive  truth  in  our  own  day," 
has  acknowledged,  unequivocally,  that  "  whatever  is 
known  to  us  by  Consciousness  is  known  beyond  the 
possibility  of  question."  But  this  is,  really,  to  grant 
all  that  the  advocates  of  intuitive  truth  desire.  The 
great  thinker  who  made  this  admission  was  not  per- 
mitted to  follow  out  the  conclusions  which  are  to  be 
drawn  from  it.  It  is  impossible  to  realize  the  im- 
portance of  these  conclusions  unless  we  know  into 
what  quagmires  of  error  men  have  wandered  from 
lack  of  this  knowledge.  Yet  almost  everyone  has 
felt,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  baneful  influence  of 
that  Philosophy  which  denies  the  freedom  of  the 
will, — through  some  of  the  many  forms  of  Litera- 
ture, through  the  contradictions  of  an  unhappy 


6  STUDIES  IAr  CRITICISM. 

destiny,  in  religious  teaching,  in  historical  teach- 
ing, in  the  unanswerable  questions  which  arise  in 
the  mind  in  solitude,  in  conversation  with  those  who 
are  friendly  as  well  as  with  those  who  are  unfriendly. 
Now  with  respect  to  this  one  topic  wonders  have 
been  wrought  by  attentive  consideration  of  the 
knowledge  given  in  Consciousness. 

The  idea  of  Cause  and  effect  lies  back  of  this 
question  of  freedom  in  the  will,  for  every  volition 
not  only  suggests,  but  involves  the  idea  of  motive  or 
cause.  An  immature  Philosophy  satisfied  itself  with 
the  loose  statement  that  "  every  effect  must  have  a 
cause "  and  propounded  this  as  a  final  law  of 
thought,  involving  the  mind  in  an  inextricable  series 
of  causes,  and  teaching  that  the  intellect  must  seek 
not  only  for  a  cause  of  the  world,  but  of  the  Being 
who  made  the  world. 

Sir  William  Hamilton  has  an  eloquent  passage,  in 
opposing  this  crude  enunciation.  Speaking  of  the 
Philosophy  of  the  Conditioned,  he  says  :  "  If  the 
causal  judgment  be  not  an  express  affirmation  of 
mind,  but  only  an  incapacity  of  thinking  the  oppo- 
site;  it  follows  that  such  a  negative  judgment  can- 
not counterbalance  the  unconditional  testimony  of 
Consciousness — that  we  are,  though  we  know  not 
how,  the  true  and  responsible  authors  of  our  ac- 
tions, not  merely  the  worthless  links  in  an  adaman- 
tine series  of  effects  and  causes."  And  rallying  all 
his  forces  around  this  indisputable  testimony,  by  a 
skillful  use  of  the  simplest  analogical  reasoning,  he 


"POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER."  j 

declares :  "  If  we  are  separated  by  our  personality 
from  the  finite  world  without  us,  God,  too,  by  his 
personality  is  separated  from  the  finite  universe 
which  he  has  made."  But  Dr.  McCosh,  uniting  a 
simplicity  of  expression  with  an  intellectual  pene- 
tration which  has,  probably,  rarely  been  equalled, 
goes  much  farther.  He  teaches  that  the  cognition 
of  self  and  of  body  exercising  power  explains  the 
true  relation  between  cause  and  effect.  Cause 
implies  substance  with  potency.  It  is  a  primitive 
judgment.  But  the  original  judgment  is  not  that 
every  cause  has  an  effect  and  vice  versa,  but  that 
this  thing  having  power  may  produce  an  effect. 
Then  having  established  the  position  that  the  mind 
begins  with  knowledge,  not  impressions,  not  appear- 
ances, not  sensations,  not  delusions,  he  can  easily 
pass  on  to  the  assertion  of  the  freedom  of  the  will 
as  a  conviction  manifested  in  Consciousness.  This 
is  rendered  peculiarly  emphatic  as  coming  from  Dr. 
McCosh  because  he  has  labored  throughout  his  en- 
tire work  on  the  Intuitions  to  define  and  limit  the 
exact  knowledge  furnished  in  Consciousness,  and 
this  conviction  of  spontaneous  power  in  the  will  is 
in  perfect  harmony  with  all  that  he  teaches  on  this 
most  difficult  subject.  For  this  knowledge,  all- 
important  as  it  is,  is  not  furnished  as  knowledge,  i.e.9 
as  laws,  principles,  formulae.  Our  intuitive  cogni- 
tions are  brought  into  form  only  by  reflection  and 
analysis,  only  through  the  processes  of  abstraction 
and  generalization. 


g  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Thus  Fatalism  and  its  sister-error,  Pantheism  (if, 
indeed,  they  be  not  one  and  the  same  error),  which 
threaten  the  peace  and  happiness  of  mankind  more 
seriously  than  any  other  evil,  are  met  and  van- 
quished by  a  philosophical  appeal  to  Consciousness. 

The  mind,  as  I  have  said  and  firmly  believe,  en- 
ters the  realm  of  pure  thought  provided  with  the 
knowledge  revealed  in  Consciousness.  Every  at- 
tempt in  the  study  of  mind  presupposes  this.  The 
Experience  or  Association  Philosophy  is  as  securely 
built  upon  power  revealed  in  Consciousness  as  any 
system  of  a  priori  Philosophy  can  be.  The  exam- 
ination and  investigation  of  mental  power  implies 
the  possession,  in  a  degree,  of  that  power.  This 
respect  which  the  mind  seems  to  have  innately  for 
its  spontaneous  energy  is  seen  and  might  be  studied 
to  advantage  in  the  uneducated.  There  is  a  deeply 
rooted  popular  belief  in  a  knowledge  which  is  not 
acquired.  Men  wish  to  be  thought  smart,  not 
good.  The  one  is  only  to  their  glory ;  the  other 
(sobering  thought !)  to  their  credit.  This  is  the 
distinction  which  Buckle  so  admirably  makes  be- 
tween vanity  and  pride.  "  Pride,"  he  says  (revers- 
ing the  order  of  consideration),  depends  on  the  con- 
sciousness of  self-applause ;  vanity  is  fed  by  the 
applause  of  others.  Pride  looks  within,  while  van- 
ity looks  without.  Hence  when  a  man  values  him- 
self for  that  which  he  inherited  by  chance,  without 
exertion  and  without  merit,  it  is  a  proof  not  of 


« POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER?  g 

pride,  but  of  vanity,  and  of  vanity  of  the  most  des- 
picable kind." 

I  have  often  asked  myself  for  a  philosophical 
explanation  of  the  fact  that  people  are  much  more 
willing  to  acknowledge  themselves  deficient  in  morals 
than  in  intellect.  It  may  te  that  they  know 
they  might  have  been  better  if  they  had  chosen  to 
be,  and  that  hence  they  are  proud  of  the  will-power 
exercised  in  not  choosing  to  be  ;  but  that  recogniz- 
ing the  limits  of  their  intellectual  abilities,  they  are 
peculiarly  sensitive  to  accusations  from  which  they 
feel  there  is  no  appeal.  Another  and  better  ex- 
planation may  be  that  as  moral  obligation  presses 
and  forces  itself  upon  the  attention  of  all,  and  all 
know  that  none  have  fulfilled  those  obligations  in 
their  completeness  and  comprehensiveness,  short- 
coming in  morals  is  merely  a  relative  thing,  or  the 
consciousness  of  it,  at  least,  merely  the  bearing  of  a 
common  shame  ;  but  mental  obligation,  forcing  it- 
self, as  it  undoubtedly  does,  only  upon  the  attention 
of  the  few,  is  revealed  to  the  many  solely  by  an  ac- 
cusation in  which  is  involved  a  reference  to  the 
nobleness  and  grandeur  of  the  human  intellect,  and 
this  glory,  being  perceived  for  the  first  time  or  with 
an  unusual  intensity,  cannot  be  relinquished  without 
a  pang. 

This  apparently  superficial  veneration  for  intel- 
lect may,  indeed,  be  neither  vanity,  indolence  or 
aspiration ;  but  if  resolvable  into  an  affection  of 
Consciousness  which  has  no  warrant  beyond  itself,  it 


I0  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

must  be  considered  as  a  power  capable  of  produc- 
ing much  mischief.  Popular  belief,  as  popular  feel- 
ing, is  only  the  echo  of  scientific  enunciation.  Now 
the  appeal  to  Consciousness,  *>.,  to  the  individual 
mind  as  the  microcosm  of  truth,  places  a  weapon  of 
the  most  formidable  nature  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  are  the  least  capable  of  using  it  to  advantage. 
When  we  reflect  that  the  truth  revealed  in  Con- 
sciousness is  of  a  nature  which  doubt  itself  does  but 
verify  and  confirm — since  to  doubt  the  existence  of 
a  thought  is  itself  a  thought  of  which  one  is  con- 
scious— we  see  at  once  that  the  appeal  to  this  as  an 
ultimate  dictum  or  test  of  truth  may  be  productive 
of  errors  which  are  final ;  as  irremediable  as  they 
are  incontrovertible  ;  that  there  may  be  no  limit  to 
the  extravagancies  of  the  human  intellect,  no  dan- 
ger comparable  to  that  of  believing  in  one's  own 
infallibility. 

Such,  in  fact,  is  the  testimony  of  History  on  this 
subject.  The  persecutor,  the  fanatic,  the  tyrant, 
and,  strange  to  say,  the  sensualist  and  even  the 
criminal  are  formed  by  a  Philosophy  which  tells  the 
individual  to  look  into  the  constitution  of  his  own 
mind  and  find  there  the  justification  of  all  that  he 
desires  to  accomplish.  What  argument,  what  per- 
suasion can  be  addressed  to  one  who  knows  that  he 
is  right  ?  What  limit  can  be  put  to  the  power  of 
him  who  is  possessed  of  a  "  pure  idea,"  the  essence 
of  an  eternal  verity,  the  reflection  of  the  Divine 
Idea? 


"POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER*  jj 

If  Europe  groaned  and  cried  out  in  anguish  un- 
der the  dominion  of  that  mode  of  thought  which 
demanded  nothing  less  than  the  extermination  of 
the  Albigenses,  the  Huguenots,  the  Calvinists  of 
Holland,  the  Monastic  Orders  under  Henry  VIII., 
the  Lollards,  the  Covenanters,  the  Jesuits  under 
Elizabeth,  the  Jews  in  Spain,  of  Servetus,  Bruno, 
Vanini,  More,  Fisher,  etc.,  etc.  i.e.,  of  all  who  dared 
to  differ  in  opinion  from  those  who  were  in  power, 
not  less  did  it  suffer  in  being  given  over  to  a  Phi- 
losophy of  presumptuous  ignorance  and  audacious 
self-will,  from  which  the  anarchy  which  disgraced 
the  Reformation  of  the  Sixteenth  Century  issued. 
History  shows  us  that  men  have  suffered  less  from 
despotism  than  from  anarchy,  or  in  philosophical 
language,  less  from  Ideology  than  from  Ergoism. 
There  are  few  darker  pages  in  its  annals  than  those 
which  record  the  horrors  of  the  licentious  sects 
which  sprang  up  in  Germany  to  exercise  the  "  right 
of  private  judgment."  The  superstition  which  pol- 
luted Rome  was  not  more  terrible  than  the  rationalism 
that  convulsed  Germany.  Indeed  from  the  "  heroic 
age  "  of  early  Jewish  History  to  the  end  of  the 
French  Revolution  this  experiment  of  every  man's 
doing  "that  which  is  right  in  his  own  eyes"  has 
proved  an  unendurable  calamity.  Men  seem  to 
have  been  driven  by  suffering  to  the  belief  that  it  is 
at  least  more  probable  that  a  few  should  be  abso- 
lutely right,  than  that  any  or  every  one  may  become 


12  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

infallible,  and  by  foul  means  or  fair  compel  his  neigh- 
bor to  agree  with  him. 

That  the  meanness  or  the  extent  of  the  applica- 
tion of  this  test  of  truth  has  nothing  to  do  with  its 
peril  is  very  evident  when  we  remember  that  this 
weapon  in  the  hands  of  one  energetic  woman  was 
enough  to  shake  the  throne  of  France  to  its  very 
foundations.  In  reading  the  "  Life  of  Madame 
Guyon,"  our  sympathies  are  so  pledged  to  that  brill- 
iant genius,  that  devout  spiritual  nature,  that  blame- 
less character,  that  we  are  indignant  with  those  who, 
being  in  political  and  ecclesiastical  power,  con- 
demned this  gifted  woman  to  a  life  of  solitary 
imprisonment. 

But  when  we  look  into  their  side  of  the  question 
our  opinion  cannot  but  undergo  a  change.  The  con- 
test was  one  in  which  absolutism  was  the  sole  stake, 
only  Mine.  Guyon  had  this  inestimable  advantage, 
that  the  absolutism  she  inculcated  was  one  to  be 
claimed  by  anybody,  while  the  court  and  hierarchy 
of  France  could  only  claim  it  for  themselves  and 
their  legitimate  successors.  In  compelling  the  ex- 
pression of  the  most  extreme  views  upon  this  most 
complicated  subject  of  Consciousness,  and  there- 
by alienating  Bossuet  and  causing  the  disgrace  of 
Fenelon,  Mine.  Guyon  was  undoubtedly  helping  to 
rivet  the  chains  which  the  French  nation  has  since 
broken  only  at  a  cost  of  inexpressible  suffering. 

Has  not  the  Intuitive  Philosophy  proceeded  to 
the  absurd  extent  of  countenancing  an  apotheosis 


" POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER:*         ^ 

of  the  natural  instincts  ?  And  doing  this  while  it 
claims  to  support  a  theology  which  rests  upon  a  Rev- 
elation declaring  one  of  its  express  objects  to  be  the 
enunciation  of  laws  which  are  antagonistic  to  the 
natural  instincts,  could  it  possibly  go  farther  in 
absurdity  ?  We  have  only  to  look  around  us  to  see 
the  pernicious  effects  of  such  teaching.  As  all 
refined  and  cultivated  society  demands  the  repres- 
sion or  control  of  the  natural  impulses  and  the 
ascendency  of  reason  over  passion,  this  doctrine  is 
permitted  to  exercise  full  sway  only  over  the  lower 
classes,  who  are  really  appealed  to  more  as  animals 
than  as  human  beings.  But  only  in  theory  are  such 
excuses  as  "  It  is  only  human  nature  "  or  "  It  is  per- 
fectly natural !  "  of  any  significance.  All  practical 
experience  goes  to  prove  that  in  the  contest  between 
reason  and  passion  nothing  is  more  certain  than  the 
triumph  of  reason,  though  this  triumph  be  but  an 
empty  show. 

But  the  gravest  of  all  spectacles,  and  one  of  the 
most  tragic  things  in  life,  is  this  belief  in  Conscious 
ness  as  the  guide  and  judge  of  moral  conduct. 
The  fact  that  man  does  possess,  in  virtue  of  his  very 
nature,  the  power  of  making  moral  distinctions  is  the 
most  obvious  fact  in  all  Psychology.  To  what  then 
shall  he  look  as  the  interpreter  of  the  special  faculty 
called  Conscience  but  to  Consciousness  ?  Yet  it  is  in 
doing  this  that  the  gravest  mistakes  in  life  are  made, 
for  this  it  is  which  makes  it  possible  to  do  wrong 
conscientiously,  and  never  does  man  do  wrong  so 


!4  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

fully  and  so  vigorously  as  when  he  does  so  conscien- 
tiously, or,  as  some  one  has  said,  "  It  is  amazing  how 
hard  one  who  is  a  gladiator  by  nature  strikes  when 
convinced  he  is  doing  God  service."  Not  to  believe 
that  some  men  have  been  inquisitors  from  conscien- 
tious motives  is  to  believe  that  the  human  heart  is 
capable  of  a  desperate  malignity. 

How  should  we,  then,  not  rejoice  that  there  have 
ever  been  those  in  the  world  who  refused  to  adopt 
this  means  of  testing  truth,  and  far  from  finding  in 
the  individual  mind  the  criteria  of  Philosophy,  pro- 
claim that  all  our  mental  phenomena  have  material 
conditions,  that  nothing  can  positively  prove  that 
any  particular  one  of  the  constituents  of  the  mind 
is  ultimate,  and  that,  therefore,  the  appeal  to  Con- 
sciousness is  not  only  shallow,  but  worthless  ?  This 
is  the  great  and  indisputable  charm  of  Metaphysics, 
that  it  is  a  field  of  inquiry  in  which  there  must  be 
something  to  be  controverted,  or  two  ways  of  view- 
ing the  subject  considered. 

Buckle,  with  a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  invec- 
tive, warns  us  not  to  trust  to  Metaphysics  in  the 
generalization  of  mental  laws,  because  there  are 
two  antagonistic  schools  of  thought  and  no  way  of 
discovering  which  is  right.  He  does  not  seem  to 
be  aware  of  the  fact  that  there  would  be  no  such 
study  as  Metaphysics  should  one  of  these  schools 
be  merged  in  the  other.  It  does  not  follow  that  be- 
cause there  are  two  schools  of  thought  there  is  no 
way  of  discovering  which  is  the  truest.  The  right 


"  POOLS  BILLED  WITH  WA  TER."  j  5 

conclusion  is  that  there  will  be  a  great  deal  of  diffi- 
culty in  determining  which  is  the  truest  and  conse- 
quently a  heavy  obligation  to  seek  every  means  to 
do  so. 

But  the  conclusions  reached  in  Metaphysics  are 
not  those  of  Mathematics.  Neither  is  the  charm  of 
the  one  study  that  of  the  other.  In  Metaphysics  we 
have  a  tentative  process,  cumulative  proof  and  ap- 
proximate truth.  In  Mathematics  we  start  with 
necessary  truth,  meet  with  no  degrees  of  evidence, 
and  arrive  at  an  inevitable  conclusion.  Sir  William 
Hamilton  says,  Mathematics  are  found  more  pecul- 
iarly intolerable  by  minds  endowed  with  the  most 
varied  and  vigorous  capacities,  and  quotes  Ludo- 
vicus  Vives  as  declaring  that  "  the  intense  and 
assiduous  exercise  of  mathematical  studies  is  the 
torture  of  noble  intellects,  of  those  born  for  the 
benefit  of  mankind."  And  George  Eliot  says  in 
one  of  her  Letters  that  it  is  a  pity  Mathematics  can 
only  give  us  absolute  truth  upon  subjects  that  we 
care  nothing  about. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  rail  at  the  one  study  in 
order  to  perceive  the  merits  of  the  other.  The  bias 
given  to  the  mind  by  Mathematical  reasoning  (which 
being  less  complex  than  probable  reasoning  is  gene- 
rally the  first  to  engage  the  attention),  the  almost 
universal  tendency  to  dogmatize,  and  the  love  of 
controversy  all  point  emphatically  to  the  need  of  a 
science  which  will  afford  a  different  kind  of  mental 
discipline,  and  exercise  a  totally  dissimilar  influence 


T6  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

in  the  solution  of  the  problems  that  relate  to  human 
welfare.  For  the  science  which  has  for  its  object 
the  work  of  tracing  the  possible  results  of  human 
knowledge  to  the  first  principles  in  the  constitution 
of  our  nature  must  necessarily  affect  our  lives  in 
their  personal  interests  more  than  any  other  science, 
and  the  method  pursued  in  this  science  of  sciences 
will  modify  the  opinions  of  those  who  do  not  dream 
of  the  existence  of  such  a  science.  Not  a  Novel, 
not  a  Poem,  Debate,  Argument,  Sermon,  Oration, 
Political  Discourse,  Essay,  History,  Biography  or 
Autobiography,  but  must  have  its  Metaphysics, 
whether  the  author,  speaker  or  thinker  be  aware  of 
the  fact  or  not. 

Those  who  know  nothing  of  Metaphysics  cannot 
imagine  how  there  can  be  two  sides  of  a  truth; 
much  less  how  one  can  rejoice  that  there  is  a 
different  way  of  looking  at  truth  from  his  own  way. 
They  ask,  sneeringly,  if  we  are  to  live  in  a  state  of 
"provisional  doubt,"  or  if  the  easy  task  of  resorting 
to  a  pure  eclecticism  is  to  be  the  way  out  of  diffi- 
culties, or  if  truth  is  to  be  found  in  a  via  media 
between  two  opposite  propositions. 

Imagine  the  daring  of  those  master-spirits  who 
first  started  out  to  discover  how  far  the  sea  of 
human  thought  was  navigable !  Can  a  sublimer 
picture  rise  before  the  mental  vision  ?  Now  as 
there  is  an  external  world  and  an  internal  world, 
as  there  are  intellectual  states  of  external  origin, 
and  intellectual  states  of  internal  origin,  and  as  all 


"  POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER."  ij 

the  knowledge  the  mind  can  acquire  is  either  sub- 
jective or  objective  knowledge,  man  is  pledged  at 
the  outset  of  his  career  to  the  building  up  of  two 
distinct  systems  of  thought.  How  natural,  how 
inevitable  that  in  "  the  youth  of  the  world  "  each 
system  should  have  allured  those  minds  most  in 
harmony  with  it  by  native  bias!  All  History,  as 
well  as  all  Philosophy,  goes  to  show  that  men  are 
born  into  the  world  with  a  pre-disposition  toward 
one  of  these  modes  of  thought.  An  extended  ob- 
servation might  show  us  the  destiny  of  nations  turn- 
ing upon  the  predominance  or  subjection  of  subjec- 
tive thought.  Skipping  over  the  narrower  influ- 
ences of  the  separate  nation,  has  not  History  told  us 
of  whole  Continents  to  be  distinguished  in  tffis  way? 
By  what  more  fundamental  difference  is  the  East- 
ern world  separated  from  the  Western  than  by  its 
attitude  in  the  investigation  and  acceptance  of 
supersensuous  truth  ?  Only  in  the  countries  of  the 
rising  sun  have  men  abandoned  themselves  to  the 
contemplation  of  one  Great  Idea,  and,  account  for 
the  fact  as  we  may,  the  result  is  one  which  must  be 
studied  gravely  indeed  if  the  Western  world  is  ever 
to  pay  back  one  half  the  debt  it  owes  the  East.* 

*  By  a  wondrous  Metaphysical  unification  (far  surpassing 
anything  that  could  be  foreseen  or  predicted  by  human  sagac- 
ity) the  people  of  the  East  are  still  irrevocably  bound  together 
as  one  people, — for  the  magnificent  purpose  which  has  been 
suggested  in  that  exquisite  book,  "  The  Oriental  Christ,"  re- 
cently published  in  this  country  by  P.  C.  Mozoomdar  of  India. 


1 8  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

The  time  has  come  when,  looking  back  upon  the 
work  accomplished  in  Philosophy  in  past  ages,  we 
cannot  be  too  glad  that  men  have  pursued  each  of 
these  modes  of  thought  to  such  exact  and  definite 
conclusions.  Starting  out  with  Plato  and  Aristotle, 
and  following  the  controversies  of  the  Christian 
Fathers,  and  the  wranglings  of  the  much  abused 
Schoolmen ;  turned  about  by  the  marvelous 
"  method  "  of  Descartes,  and  set  at  rest  again  by 
the  steadying  pen  of  a  John  Locke  or  a  Leibnitz, 
constantly  and  continuously  do  we  see  the  mutual 
modification  of  the  one  system  upon  the  other,  until 
every  expectation  that  truth  can  only  be  found  in 
one  or  either  of  these  systems  is  finally  and  forever 
excluded. 

At  this  point  a  genuine  honesty  of  purpose  dis- 
covers that  the  true  way  to  go  about  the  search  for 
truth  is  to  study  the  Philosophy  which  is  antagonistic 
to  our  natural  predisposition  and  youthful  training. 
This  is  just  what  people  generally  decline  to  do. 
They  want  to  spend  their  strength  in  strengthening 
their  native  bias,  because  they  do  not  really  love  the 
truth,  and  are  not  in  search  of  it.  But  this  willing- 
ness to  hear  all  that  can  be  said  on  the  opposite 
side  of  a  subject,  that  is  within  the  limits  of  legit- 
imate controversy  (for  to  the  eternal  disgrace  of 
Philosophical  History,  much  intellectual  ingenuity 
has  been  worse  than  wasted  in  answering  the 
Devil's  advocate),  is  the  only  fair  test  of  a  love  of 
truth.  Then  it  may  be  possible  to  attempt  the 


" POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER."  ^ 

task  that  has  actually  been  achieved  in  our  own 
age  by  two  of  the  keenest  thinkers  and  sincerest 
truth-seekers  the  world  has  ever  known.  I  mean 
Frederick  W.  Robertson  and  John  Stuart  Mill,  from 
whose  writings  it  would  be  easy  to  produce  parallel 
passages  teaching  us  that  the  whole  truth  is  made 
up  of  the  partial  truths  contained  in  two  opposite 
propositions;  that  "  the  writings  of  one  school  of 
thinkers  are  the  richest  mine  whence  the  opposite 
school  can  draw  the  materials  for  what  has  yet  to  be 
done  to  perfect  their  own  theory  ;  "  that  truth  is  to 
be  inculcated  suggestively,  not  dogmatically,  pro- 
visionally rather  than  authoritatively. 

Such  a  position  is,  of  course,  open  to  the  wildest 
suspicions — of  compromising,  temporizing,  vacil- 
lating, of  uninteltigibility,  deception,  fraud.  He 
who  would  be  one  of  the  "  thinkers  above  the  multi- 
tude "  must  pay  the  price  proportioned  to  the  value 
of  the  prize.  It  may  be  enough  for  the  many  to 
know  that  there  are  such  thinkers  in  the  world. 

Very  superficial  people  have  a  great  horror  of  in- 
consistency ;  that  is,  of  that  inconsistency  which  is 
exhibited  by  a  change  in  the  expression  of  opinion 
and  outward  conduct.  But  the  same  people  have 
no  horror  whatever  of  being  false  to  inward  convic- 
tion, false  to  the  individual  ideal,  though  there  is 
no  other  real  inconsistency.  The  world  is  full  of 
those  who  are  rooted  in  sectarianism,  fearful  of  any 
change,  effeminate  shrinkers  from  the  smallest 
suffering,  morbidly  afraid  of  public  opinion  and  more 


22  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

The  more  the  mind  is  narrowed  to  the  contem- 
plation of  one  idea,  warped  by  the  cultivation  of  its 
own  special  idiosyncrasy,  and  goaded  to  the  ex- 
pression of  the  most  emphatic  assertions,  the  more 
easily  it  is  labelled  and  honored  (?)  by  men.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  liberal  minded  man  too  often 
sinks  into  the  contemptible  latitudinarian,  and  ear- 
nest thought  is  frequently  frittered  away  in  attending 
to  the  claims  of  many  subjects.  That  mind,  then, 
which  is  both  intense  and  liberal,  capable  of  strong 
convictions  and  tolerant  of  the  convictions  of  other 
strong  minds,  is  too  rare  to  come  under  any  of  the 
world's  classifications.  The  comprehension  of  such 
independence  as  Sterling's  is  rightly  reserved  for 
the  thoughtful  few. 

Strangely  enough,  the  two  men  who  (for  the  public 
good)  undertook  to  divine  this  man  who  would  bind 
himself  to  no  prescribed  mode  of  thought,  no  creed, 
no  Philosophy,  were,  themselves,  irrevocably  given 
over  to  the  most  positive  systems  of  belief  and  de- 
nial. We  know  the  man  Sterling  almost  as  well 
from  the  slight  sketches  of  Maria  Hare  ("  Memorials 
of  a  Quiet  Life  " )  and  J.  S.  Mill  (Autobiography) 
as  from  the  so-called  Biographies  of  Julius  Hare 
and  Carlyle.  Not  until  the  private  Journals  of  a 
gifted,  but  unknown  and  unassuming  Quakeress 
were  given  to  the  world — after  her  death — and  then 
only  through  the  instrumentality  of  a  friend — was  a 
satisfactory  light  thrown  upon  the  mental  power 
and  position  of  the  man  to  whom  the  greatest  Meta- 


"POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER."  23 

physician  of  the  age  wrote  that  he  "  would  gladly 
exchange  powers  of  usefulness  with  him." 

Sterling  was  not  a  seeker  after  Speculative  Truth, 
but  he  looked  at  every  intellectual  problem  from  a 
Metaphysical  point  of  view.  He  seems  to  have 
done  for  practical  truth  very  much  the  same  work 
that  Kant  did  for  speculative  truth.  Both  believed 
in  an  Idealism  which  makes  man  see  the  world  not 
as  it  is,  but  as  the  forms  of  the  intellect  make  it  ap- 
pear. But  neither  believed  that  truth  is  to  be  found 
only  in  ideas  of  pure  intelligence  and  pure  reason : 
this  knowledge  may  be  mere  appearance  :  but  the 
knowledge  of  actual  experience  cannot  deceive,  and 
this  is  the  only  reliable  opponent  of  dogmatism  and 
scepticism.  Never  losing  sight  for  a  moment  of  the 
objective  reality  of  Absolute  Truth,  Sterling  seems 
to  have  had  a  marvelous  ability  to  refer  every  rela- 
tive truth  to  this  Ideal  Reality,  and  insisting  upon  en- 
listing as  a  private  in  the  army  of  truth  that  he 
might  enjoy  the  greatest  possible  freedom,  he  waged 
relentless  warfare  against  all  systems  of  exclusive 
thought  and  dwelt,  himself,  in  a  world  of  inclusion 
which  was  as  boundless  as  it  was  magnificent. 

Such  teaching  from  its  very  loftiness  can  influence 
the  world  only  indirectly  and  mediately.  Plutarch 
says :  "  As  motion  would  cease  were  contention 
taken  out  of  the  physical  universe,  so  all  human 
progress  would  cease  were  contention  taken  out  of 
the  moral  universe."  If  the  Experience  Philosophy 
is  needed  as  a  check  to  the  glaring  evils  of  a  system 


24  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

which  resorts  to  the  blind  impulses  of  instinct,  the 
visions  of  mystical  enthusiasts,  the  dreams,  the  in- 
consistencies and  contradictions  of  prejudice  and 
wilful  ignorance  as  the  criteria  of  truth,  how  much 
more  is  it  called  for  in  the  enunciation  of  the  positive 
truths  which  are  necessarily  passed  over  and  ignored 
in  this  same  system.  In  teaching  that  all  knowledge 
consists  of  generalizations  from  experience  this 
Philosophy  has  led  men  to  question  the  established 
order  of  things,  and  in  doing  this  the  world  has 
made  more  progress  in  a  few  centuries  (may  we  not 
say  in  a  single  century?)  than  it  could  ever  make, 
or  has  ever  made,  in  unlimited  time  under  the  do- 
minion of  the  Intuitive  Philosophy. 

Politics  or  the  Science  of  Government,  a  study 
worthy  of  man's  best  energies,  has  been  found  to  be 
totally  dependent  upon  this  Philosophy,  and  it  may 
safely  be  said  that  the  very  conception  of  the  individ- 
ual Liberty  which  we  now  prize  among  our  noblest 
possessions  was  given  to  the  world  by  its  expositors. 
Now-a-days  we  can  scarcely  bring  ourselves  to  be- 
lieve that  the  theory  of  the  "  Divine  right  "  of  kings 
was  ever  seriously  discussed.  History  tells  us  that 
fiercer  wars  have  never  been  waged  than  around 
this  standard.  It  is  evident  that  principles,  not 
facts,  were  at  the  foundation  of  this  contro- 
versy. We  cannot  suppose  for  a  moment  that  the 
Europe  even  of  the  Middle  Ages  had  the  remotest 
idea  that  the  Jews  were  permitted  to  have  a  king 
only  as  a  punishment,  a  mark  and  proof  of  the 


"  POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER."  2$ 

Divine  anger.  The  power  of  habit ;  the  law  of  asso- 
ciation ;  above  all,  the  stereotyped  reference  to  the 
first  principles  of  our  nature  as  the  Divinely  sanc- 
tioned causes  of  all  existing  customs,  will  account 
satisfactorily  for  the  general  resistance  that  was 
offered  to  the  few  who  dared  to  question  the  claims 
of  a  monarchical  government. 

It  seems  paradoxical  to  assert  that  the  Experience 
Philosophy  could  have  anything  to  do  with,  political 
liberty  when,  in  the  same  age  in  which  Hobbes  was 
teaching  that  man  could  be  nothing  but  a  material- 
ist and  government  nothing  but  a  despotism,  the 
Puritans  were  deliberately  decapitating  Charles : 
and,  later,  when  Condillac  was  putting  the  finishing 
touches  to  the  Philosophy  which  taught  that  man 
was  but  the  creature  of  circumstances,  the  French 
people  were  proving  to  the  world's  entire  and  terri- 
fied satisfaction  that  this  same  creature,  man,  may 
sometimes  act  as  the  creator  of  circumstances. 

It  was,  evidently,  not  from  the  positive  enuncia- 
tions of  this  Philosophy  that  Cromwell  drew  his  in- 
spiration or  Mirabeau  his  eloquence.  But  it  was 
the  great  and  indisputable  fact  that  attention  had 
been  fixed  upon  the  idea  that  man  may  rightly  and 
lawfully  scan  the  sources  and  origins  of  all  his 
ideas,  beliefs,  customs  and  opinions  that  strength- 
ened men  to  throw  off  the  shackles  of  obsolete  cus- 
toms and  "  m-alce  way  for  liberty."  And  now  this 
idea  having  gone  abroad  in  all  lands,  it  is  utterly 
useless  to  suppose  that  any  arguments,  any  fears  or 


26  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

any  faiths  can  ever  gainsay,  much  less  suppress  it. 
That  there  are  deeply  rooted  ideas  in  the  world  to- 
day which  are  the  result  of  the  objects  which  excite 
them,  of  the  comparisons  which  bring  them  together 
and  of  the  language  which  facilitates  their  combina- 
tion, no  Philosophy  can  henceforth  attempt  to  deny. 
That  the  effort  to  determine  just  what  these  ideas 
are,  to  separate  those  which  do  originate  in  this 
way  from  those  which  do  not,  has  already  engaged, 
and  will  in  the  future  occupy,  a  vast  amount  of  men- 
tal energy  cannot  be  called  in  question. 

The  consummation  of  this  work  is  not,  however, 
to  be  looked  for  in  the  near  future  and  not  until 
many  a  desperate  battle  has  been  fought.  For 
since  the  publication  of  Montesquieu's  wonderful 
book,  "  The  Spirit  of  Laws,"  which  compelled  men 
to  look  all  existing  institutions  boldly  in  the  face 
and  evoked  a  tempest  of  anger,  indignation  and 
astonishment  which  has  not  yet  subsided,  no  work 
of  equal  importance  has  appeared  with  the  exception 
of  J.  S.  Mill's  searching  inquiry  into  the  nature  and 
limits  of  social  "  Liberty."  Even  now  it  is  rather 
to  be  regretted  that  this  particular  subject  should 
have  been  treated  by  one  who  was  so  far  in  advance 
of  his  age,  and  who  as  a  rapid,  brilliant  and  fearless 
thinker  was  unable  to  sympathize  with  the  timidity 
of  his  contemporaries,  and,  hence,  has  rather  post- 
poned than  accelerated  the  reception  .of  the  mag- 
nificent ideas  which  form  the  essence  of  that  work. 
In  touching  upon  such  topics  as  the  incompleteness 


"  POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WA  TER."  27 

of  the  Christian  morality,  the  shortcomings  of  pro- 
fessed Christians  and  the  desirability  of  a  limitless 
discussion  of  vital  articles  of  Faith,  many  have  sup- 
posed that  the  author  attempted  an  attack  upon  the 
Christian  religion  and  an  avowed  inculcation  of  the 
idea  that  it  is  antagonistic  to  individual  liberty. 

Such  topics  are,  really,  only  touched  upon  by  way 
of  illustration  and  elucidation.  In  order  to  under- 
stand the  import  of  such  a  book  we  must  remember 
that  in  directing  our  attention  to  any  one  subject  we 
necessarily  exclude  all  other  subjects  from  the 
mind  :  and  the  more  thoroughly  trained  the  mind  is, 
the  better  will  it  be  enabled  to  exclude  such  sub- 
jects, or,  in  other  words,  the  trained  mind  is  logical 
and  Logic  shows  us  that  there  are  laws  of  thought  and 
of  language,  which,  in  virtue  of  the  given  subject, 
forbid  the  admission,  or  even  the  contemplation,  of 
irrelevant  subjects.  The  world,  generally,  knows 
nothing  about  such  mental  concentration.  It 
thinks  of  a  thousand  different  things  while  it  reads 
the  work  directed  to  the  solution  of  a  single  prob- 
lem. It  reads  volumes  between  the  lines  of  a  dozen 
pages  and  often,  indeed,  stops  at  the  end  of  the 
dozen  pages  without  the  slightest  conception  of 
their  logical  drift,  drawing  conclusions  of  its  own, 
which  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  author's.  In- 
stead of  being  the  whole  truth  upon  every  subject, 
this  single  argument  claims  only  to  be  a  view  of  the 
truth  based  upon  a  certain  hypothesis  at  the  outset, 
for  it  must  be  remembered,  from  beginning  to  end, 


28  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

that  every  premise  within  the  limits  of  probable 
reasoning  may  be  regarded  as  a  mere  supposition. 
As  to  the  objectionable  topics  above  mentioned, 
a  few  words  may  explain  away  their  obnoxious  char- 
acter. First,  he  who  reveres  the  letter  above  the 
spirit  of  the  New  Testament  is  at  heart  a  Jew,  how- 
ever much  he  may  profess  to  be  a  Christian.  Again, 
to  what  other  cause  can  Christian  civilization  be 
ascribed  than  to  the  triumph  of  the  spirit  over  the 
letter  of  the  New  Testament  ?  Now  all  the  incom- 
pleteness to  which  Mill  calls  attention  is  that  of  the 
letter.  Secondly,  in  selecting  any  proposition  as 
the  first  premise  of  an  argument  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  consider  what  the  logicians  call  its 
quality  and  its  quantity.  The  statement  that  pro- 
fessed Christians  do  not  live  up  to  the  teachings  of 
the  New  Testament  may  be  taken  in  different  senses. 
One  may  take  it  in  the  sense  that  no  Christians 
live  up  to  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament : 
another,  that  no  Christians  live  up  to  any  of  those 
teachings  :  the  true  sense  all  the  while  being  that 
some  Christians  do  not  live  up  to  some  of  those 
teachings, — a  fact  most  painfully  evident  to  all  dis- 
putants. Thirdly,  in  an  argument  like  that  of  the 
"  Liberty  "  the  author  takes  up  his  pen  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  proving  that  liberty  is  an  exceed- 
ingly desirable  thing,  but  no  one  is  compelled  or 
desired  to  assent  to  the  proposition  that  liberty  is 
the  only  desirable  thing.  If  by  the  free  discussion 
of  certain  articles  of  Faith  we  see  that  we  are  about 


POOLS  FILLED   WITH  WATER: 


29 


to  lose  in  one  direction  more  than  we  can  gain  in 
another,  no  one  can  succeed  in  persuading  us  to 
prefer  certain  loss  to  doubtful  gain.  But  we  could 
scarcely  expect  any  writer  to  advocate  the  advan- 
tages of  authority  while  dwelling  upon  those  of 
liberty.  The  remedy  is  in  the  advocacy  itself,  for 
nothing  so  quickly  and  successfully  shows  up  the 
merits  of  the  opposite  argument  as  the  over-ardent 
partisanship  of  the  debater. 

Within  the  limits  of  Philosophy  proper,  the  Expe- 
rience School  has  exercised  a  very  significant  influ- 
ence in  checking  the  tendency  (in  those  who  give 
themselves  up  to  Metaphysical  speculation)  toward 
subtle  thought.  The  aversion  which  practical  minds 
sometimes  feel  for  Metaphysics  is  undoubtedly  to 
be  traced  to  a  proneness  of  this  kind,  which  so  often 
besets  the  thinker.  All  who  have  thought  at  all 
know  that  the  human  mind  has  a  power  to  think 
thoughts  which  it  cannot  express.  For  all  practical 
purposes  such  a  power  is  useless.  Still  further,  the 
slightest  cultivation  of  this  power  seems  to  tend  not 
only  toward  vagueness,  emptiness  and  dissatisfac- 
tion, but  toward  error.  Efficacious  thought  of  the 
profoundest  kind  may  be  expressed  so  simply  that 
it  is,  really,  humbling  to  the  pride  of  the  intellect  to 
find  that  it  has  exerted  itself  to  arrive  at  such 
results.  This  very  unflattering  law  of  thought  was 
quickly  divined  by  the  brilliant  young  French 
Philosopher,  Vanvenargues,  who  says  in  his  Maxims  : 
"  When  a  thought  presents  itself  to  us  as  a  profound 


3Q  STUDIES  7W  CRITICISM. 

discovery,  and  we  take  the  trouble  to  develop  it,  we 
often  find  that  it  is  a  truth  which  has  become  hack- 
neyed." 

But  we  must  not  stop  here.  For  the  feeblest 
thinker  is  privileged  to  know  that  there  is  more 
reality  in  the  process  or  act  of  thinking  than  in  all 
the  practical  applications  that  can  be  made  even 
from  the  thoughts  of  genius.  And  as  Sterling  says, 
"  we  may  pass  from  knowledge  to  doubt,  and  thence 
agam  to  knowledge  ;  but  it  is  a  vulgar  error  to  sup- 
pose that  we  return  to  the  same  knowledge  in  the 
same  forms  and  under  the  same  limitations  as 
before."  We  need  to  be  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the 
reality  in  the  act  of  thinking  as  well  as  in  the 
thought  itself.  Among  the  wonderful  Metaphysical 
expressions  to  be  found  in  the  Bible  is  the  remark- 
able one  :  "  We  do  know  that  we  know." 

The  formal  exposition  of  Metaphysical  subtlety 
has  probably  never  gone  farther  than  in  the  Nom- 
inalism of  the  Schoolmen  and  the  Idealism  of  Berke- 
ley. Both  (but  especially  the  latter)  are  powerful 
testimonies  to  the  immateriality  of  man's  highest 
nature.  There  is  not  a  flaw  in  the  Berkeleyan 
argument  for  the  non-existence  of  matter.  And, 
strange  to  say,  while  there  is  no  argument  which  has 
been  so  generally  regarded  as  the  reductio  ad  absur~ 
dum  of  Speculative  Philosophy,  and  none  which 
seems  less  capable  of  affecting  universal  thought, 
the  fact  remains  that  few  speculations  have  ever 
wielded  a  more  extensive  or  more  practical  or  more 


"  POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WA  TER."  3  T 

lasting  influence.  It  may  be  that  between  the 
scientific  and  popular  acceptations  of  the  word 
idealism  there  is  very  little  in  common.  But  this 
breach  cannot  widen  beyond  the  limits  of  recogni- 
tion. The  loftiest  power  of  abstraction,  the  grand- 
est ability  to  substitute  immaterial  entities  for  the 
sensible  phenomena  which  seem  to  mankind  in  gen- 
eral the  only  realities  that  exist,  may  be  shared  by 
the  unknown  student  and  the  distinguished  man  of 
genius.  Some  may  say  this  is  but  the  privilege  of 
temperament  and  has  nothing  to  do  with  philosophi- 
cal exposition.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  men 
(and  boys  and  girls,  too,  for  that  matter)  were  not 
idealists  before  the  time  of  Berkeley,  and  even  be- 
fore the  time  of  Plato.  Such  a  power  is  among  the 
endowments  of  the  race.  But  it  is  by  the  formal, 
philosophical  exposition  even  of  axiomatic  truth 
that  the  world  becomes  conscious  of  such  truth,  and 
all  the  meaning  of  the  education  of  the  race  lies  in 
the  identification  of  the  individual  mind  with  uni- 
versal truth.  It  is  the  revelation  of  the  power  to 
see  the  world  as  we  wish  to  see  it,  not  as  it  is,  but 
as  it  ought  to  be  or  as  we  should  like  it  to  be  for 
our  own  personal  purposes,  and  this  by  the  direct 
apperception  of  ideas,  that  has  given  its  tone  to 
modern  literature,  love,  and  life.  The  abuse  of  such 
a  power  (like  that  of  all  the  powers  which  we  believe 
to  be  Divinely  implanted)  is  to  be  guarded  against 
with  vigilance. 

While  all  that  belongs  to  the  Intuitive  Philosophy 


32  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

seems  to  be  most  in  harmony  with  the  truths  and 
teachings  of  Revealed  Religion,  and  therefore  with 
the  only  trustworthy  standard  of  morality,  I  believe 
there  is  no  greater  mistake  than  the  supposition  that 
this  Philosophy  alone  exists  in  the  interests  of 
righteousness,  and  the  Experience  Philosophy,  rest- 
ing upon  sensation  as  its  basis,  in  the  interests  of 
sensational  enjoyment  and  upon  no  other  principle 
of  action  than  that  of  selfishness.  Too  many  noble 
men  have  given  themselves  up  to  the  study  of  this 
last  named  Philosophy,  too  much  invaluable  aid  has 
been  given  to  the  world  by  its  advocacy,  to  permit 
an  unprejudiced  mind  to  believe  this.  Not  only  the 
existence  of  a  world  external  to  ourselves,  and  the 
inevitable  recognition  of  sensation  as  the  source  and 
origin  of  many  ideas ;  not  only  a  native  mental  bias 
predisposing  and  impelling  certain  minds  toward 
the  contemplation  of  such  ideas  ;  not  only  the  need 
of  a  counteracting  force  to  the  fatal  tendencies  of 
elemental  forces  in  the  Intuitive  Philosophy  :  but 
purposes  of  a  positive,  affirmative  nature,  ends  of  a 
direct  and  immediate  importance,  demand  the  exist- 
ence of  such  a  school  of  thought. 

It  is  evident  that  the  world  cannot  hope  to  make 
much  progress  while  the  truth  which  has  been  ascer- 
tained, i.e.,  knowledge  as  it  now  exists,  is  put  before 
mankind  or  represented  to  the  mind  as  an  accumu- 
lation of  incoherent,  fragmentary  guesses,  bound  to- 
gether by  no  principle  and  amenable  to  no  laws, 

A  conception  of  the  unity  of  all  knowledge  ;  a 


"  POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATERS  33 

principle,  plan  or  scheme  for  the  interpretation  of 
that  unity,  and  an  attempt  to  bind  together  all  the 
known  sciences  by  the  bond  of  this  unity,  constitute 
the  great  need  and  desideratum  of  the  modern  intel- 
lect. 

Herbert  Spencer,  the  first  to  respond  to  this  de- 
mand (at  least  to  my  knowledge)  is  an  ardent  advo- 
cate of  the  Experience  Philosophy.  And  this  is 
entirely  in  accordance  with  the  expectations  excited 
by  this  school.  Its  mission  is  to  furnish  hypotheses 
for  experiment,  to  suggest  the  objective  tests  of 
truth  and  to  show  how  far  it  is  possible  to  go  in  the 
application  of  those  tests.  Spencer's  "  Synthetic 
Philosophy  "  is  a  most  delightful  work.  On  the  sin- 
gle principle  that  all  knowable  phenomena  pass 
from  the  imperceptible  to  the  perceptible  by  the 
process  of  the  integration  of  matter  and  concomi- 
tant loss  of  motion,  *>.,  by  a  process  of  concentra- 
tion which  tends  toward  stability,  the  reader  fol- 
lows his  guide  through  all  the  mazes  of  the  sciences 
now  known,  and  is  given  the  perception  of  a  unity 
and  harmony  in  them  which  is  as  beautiful  as  it  is 
unexpected.  All  the  detailed  phenomena  of  life, 
mind  and  society  are  interpreted  in  material  terms, 
not  as  denoting  the  ultimate  nature  of  things,  but 
because  these  reduce  our  complex  symbols  of 
thought  to  the  simplest  symbols,  and  in  such  an 
undertaking  some  symbols  must  be  used. 

Even  as  an  objective  principle  this  may  be  con- 
demned as  inadequate,  and  of  course  is  considered 
3 


34 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


so  by  those  who  prefer  subjective  theories  of  con 
struction.  At  best  it  is  but  an  explanation  of  a 
process  of  development,  which  is  perhaps  the  least 
interesting  aspect  in  which  we  can  view  any  phe- 
nomenon. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  an  effort  in  the  direction  of 
intellectual  expansion  ;  it  has  helped  men  to  realize 
that  man  was  made  for  truth,  not  truth  for  man,  and 
that  if  knowledge  can  be  consolidated  for  the  time 
being  upon  any  principle,  it  can  be  eventually  con- 
solidated on  the  right  principle. 

But  after  this  Philosophy  has  done  its  best  or  its 
worst,  or  whatever  it  can  do,  we  need  have  no 
fears  in  regard  to  the  ultimate  ascendency  of  the 
Intuitive  Philosophy,  even  as  we  know  that  "  the 
good  which  is  better  than  our  best "  must  finally 
triumph  over  all  things.  The  inestimable  value 
which  has  been  put  upon  this  Philosophy  is  not 
without  a  profound  significance.  In  all  ages  men 
have  felt  that  there  must  be  a  reasonable  explana- 
tion of  that  process  of  thought  by  which  the  mind 
transcends  the  material  or  outward,  and  forms  well 
defined  and  positive  conceptions  of  spiritual  and 
immortal  realities.  And  this  explanation  is  only  to 
be  found  in  the  Philosophy  of  innate  ideas.  Though 
we  find  that  no  scale  can  be  so  nicely  graduated  as 
to  express  the  degrees  of  intellectual  perception  in 
men,  careful  induction  and  persistent  analysis  show 
us  more  and  more  clearly  that  there  is  in  the  minds 
of  all  men  a  universal  part,  and  that  Philosophy  is 


"POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER."  35 

the  pursuit  of  truth  as  it  exists  for  intelligence  in 
itself,  not  individual  intelligence. 

The  appeal  to  Consciousness,  however,  is  not  the 
appeal  to  a  power  equally  developed  in  all  alike,  but 
to  that,  which,  being  in  its  essence  common  to  all, 
admits  of  a  development  to  which  no  limits  can  be 
affixed.  The  extravagancies,  the  errors,  the  fanat- 
icisms which  have  followed  from  a  belief  in  innate 
ideas  are  the  results  of  a  feebly  developed,  inert, 
undisciplined  Consciousness.  Every  time  we  think 
we  deepen,  extend  and  fructify  the  sphere  of  Con- 
sciousness. It  is  not  a  separate  faculty,  but  neither 
is  it  merely  the  accompaniment,  the  mirror,  the  in- 
dex of  thought.  It  is  a  power  in  itself,  affected  by 
the  thought  and  in  turn  affecting  the  capacity  for 
thought ;  a  power  which,  rightly  comprehended, 
carries  with  it  the  heaviest  of  responsibilities.  The 
greatest  atrocities  which  have  been  perpetrated 
because  men  thought  they  saw  and  knew  the  abso- 
lute truth  are  forgiven,  in  virtue  of  the  possibilities 
revealed  in  that  clouded  perception  and  that  un per- 
fected consciousness.  They  witness  to  the  exist- 
ence of  a  power  which,  in  being  capable  of  produc- 
ing misery,  is  also  able  to  give  the  highest  happi- 
ness. 

The  spirit  of  Gamaliel  was  far  more  useful  for  the 
practical  purposes  of  truth  than  the  spirit  of  Saul 
the  persecutor.  But  Gamaliel  could  never  accom- 
plish the  work  that  was  reserved  for  that  same  Saul. 
By  not  checking,  not  persecuting,  not  demolishing, 


3 6  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

he  might  make  it  possible  for  truth  to  exist  on  earth. 
But  Gamaliel  fades  from  the  page  of  history  as 
Gamaliel  still,  while  Saul,  the  persecutor,  is  trans- 
formed into  the  devoted  Paul,  the  slave  of  Jesus 
Christ.  And  the  world  has  always  recognized  this  : 
it  can  freely  pardon  the  wrong  that  is  done  through 
an  over-ardent,  even  a  misguided,  enthusiasm  ;  but  it 
cannot  forgive  the  wrong  that  is  done  through  pru- 
dence, moderation  or  indifference. 

Gamaliel  thought  that  experience  was  the  only 
reliable  test  to  be  applied  to  the  New  Religion,  and 
was  perfectly  willing  to  put  it  to  that  test.  So  ac- 
customed was  Saul  to  look  within  for  the  criteria  of 
truth,  and  so  blindly  had  he  followed  the  spontane- 
ous dictates  of  conscience,  that  he  verily  thought  he 
ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  He  was  not  content  to  go  his 
way  and  trust  to  what  he  believed  the  inherent 
weakness  of  the  new  belief  to  bring  it  to  nought. 
His  intensely  subjective  nature  could  not  brook  the 
existence  of  a  belief  at  variance  with  his  own.  But 
the  mental  tendency  which  impelled  him  to  cast 
men  and  women  into  prison  because  of  their  opin- 
ions made  it  possible  for  him  to  be  the  standard- 
bearer  of  Christianity. 

The  intuitive  perception  of  truth  is-one  thing ;  the 
interpretation  of  that  perception  another.  For  the 
laws  of  intuitive  truth  are  not  "written  on  the  soul 
so  that  Consciousness  can  read  off  the  inscription." 
But  in  these  two  forms  of  one  and  the  same  power 


" POOLS  FILLED  WITH  WATER."  37 

we  find  all  that  redeems  humanity  from  degradation 
and  vanity;  all  that  makes  life  valuable  now  and 
proves  beyond  a  doubt  that  it  will  be  valuable 
hereafter.  In  the  recognition  of  this  power  we  see 
the  Divine  sanction  for  the  cultivation  of  the  intel- 
lect, and  not  until  we  feel  that  intellectual  power 
comes  from  God  and  leads  to  God  can  we  use  it  to 
any  lasting  purpose,  or  find  in  it  the  joy  it  was 
meant  to  give. 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE. 

A  FOOLISH  prejudice,  transmitted  from  the  Eng- 
lish, who  from  time  immemorial  have  been  keenly 
jealous  of  Gallic  renown,  has  given  rise  among  us 
to  a  general  impression  that  the  Literature  of  such  a 
people  as  the  French  must  be  rather  frivolous  and 
unmeaning  ;  exciting  and  highly  wrought,  perhaps, 
but  of  no  real  depth  and  of  very  ineffectual  influ- 
ence. 

To  those  who  have  had  such  thoughts  it  may 
seem  strange  to  assert  that  all  who  have  made  a 
special  study  of  the  subject  concur  in  declaring  that 
it  is  the  privilege  of  the  French  mind  to  be,  more 
than  any  other,  the  expression  of  the  human  mind, 
that  it  has  more  of  the  special  qualities,  more  of  the 
good  sense  and  general  ideas  that  are  common  to 
man  as  man  than  any  typical  mind  recognized  in 
History. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  mode  of  teaching  the 
Language  and  Literature  of  France  in  our  Schools 
and  Colleges  has  not  been  conducive  to  the  compre- 
hension of  their  truly  cosmopolitan  character  and 
just  claims  to  universality.  As  Greek  was  once 
the  common  speech  of  the  cultivated  world,  so  is 

38 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.     39 

French  to-day.  As  Greek  could  never  have  played 
such  a  role  if  it  had  not  had  intellectual  power  be- 
hind it,  neither  can  French  have  attained  the  rank 
it  now  holds  devoid  of  the  spirit  claimed  for  it. 

And  it  is  especially,  if  not  solely,  in  its  Literature 
that  the  French  mind  has  shown  itself  unrivalled. 
The  French  have  not  solved  the  problems  of  Pol- 
itics ;  they  have  not  sounded  the  depths  of  Art  in 
any  of  her  forms  ;  they  have  not  scaled  the  heights 
of  Religion ;  they  have  walked  with  uneven  steps  in 
the  highways  of  Philosophy.  Let  all  this  be  granted : 
when  we  ask  what  they  have  done,  we  find  that  "  in 
depicting  humanity  rather  than  the  man  of  a  cent- 
ury or  a  country,  in  seeking  absolute  and  eternal 
truth  rather  than  local  and  passing  truth,  the  French 
have  made  of  their  Literature  the  Literature  of  all 
centuries  and  of  all  countries."* 

Let  me  imagine  that  I  am  assuming  the  rble  of 
guide  to  those  who  have  never  before  entered  this 
charming  realm  of  thought — taking  care  to  stipu- 
late that  I  only  point  out  the  merits  of  those  writ- 
ings which,  within  a  limited  time  and  under  the 
objective  conditions  imposed  by  a  provincial  life,  it 
has  been  my  privilege  to  encounter. 

One  is  naturally  introduced  to  a  Literature 
through  the  critical  works  of  its  language,  as  none 
but  natives  can  tell  us  of  the  true  objects  of  national 
pride.  Here,  then,  we  could  scarcely  hope  to  enter 
upon  a  task  under  more  favorable  auspices,  for  I 
*  Saint  Marc  Girardin. 


40  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

know  of  nothing  more  beautiful  and  more  captivat- 
ing than  the  intellectual  enthusiasm,  the  intense, 
whole-souled  admiration  for  the  achievements  of 
compatriots,  which  distinguishes  the  French  critic 
from  every  other  critic  ;  involving,  as  it  always  does, 
the  indefatigable  labor  of  independent  research  and 
issuing,  to  its  undying  honor,  in  the  most  search- 
ing analysis. 

Going  back  to  the  very  beginning,  we  find  that 
the  literary  sceptre  passed  from  Italy  to  Spain, 
from  Spain  to  Africa,  and  from  Africa  to  Gaul.* 
It  is  not  easily  wrested  from  that  last  grip.  Al- 
though "  Gaul  was  born  to  history  only  when  it 
ceased  to  exist,"  History  has  been  gracious  enough 
to  record  that  the  greatest  scholar  of  the  fourth 
century,  the  world-renowned  Ausonius,  was  a  Gaul ; 
that  he  received  his  remarkable  education  from  his 
learned  Aunt,  QEmilia  Dryadia,  and  that  his  mantle, 
falling  upon  Rutilius  Numantianus,  found  in  a  Gaul 
a  worthy  successor  of  his  genius  and  learning :  all 
of  which  are  events  very  significant  in  this  embryo 
stage  of  intellectual  development,  for  nowhere  do 
coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before  them 
more  unequivocally  than  in  French  Literature.  One 
must  be  dull  indeed  not  to  catch  at  a  clew  which  so 
soon  makes  itself  apparent.  French  Literature,  as 
well  as  French  History,  "  develops  itself  like  a 
judicial  process."  It  not  only  has  generic  character- 

*  Amedee  Thierry. 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.     4 1 

istics,  but  there  is  a  systematic  logical  sequence  run, 
ning  through  every  phase  of  its  development. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  there  is  a  literary 
prestige  to  be  maintained  by  those  illustrious  Franks 
who  are  eager  to  bear  the  flaming  torch  from  hand 
to  hand.  Gregory  of  Tours,  Fredegaire,  Gerbert, 
(afterwards  Pope  Sylvester  II.,  the  Eneas  Sylvius  of 
secular  History  and  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
Popes  that  ever  reigned),  Alcuin,  Eginhard  and 
Angilbert,  though  of  European  celebrity,  are  identi- 
fied with  French  History  and  Literature  as  with  no 
other. 

But  it  is  not  until  we  enter  upon  the  development 
of  the  French  language  itself,  after  the  consolidation 
of  the  Romans,  Gauls  and  Goths  in  the  South,  the 
Romans,  Gauls,  Franks  and  Danes  in  the  North,  of 
France,  that  this  study  becomes  one  of  absorbing 
interest. 

Of  the  five  Romance  languages  formed  by  the 
union  of  the  Latin  and  Teutonic  idioms,  the  Proven- 
c.al  was  Europe's  first-born.  Southern  France  being 
divided  into  several  independent  principalities  and 
the  one  bond  being  that  of  language,  every  species 
of  intercommunication  fostered  the  rapid  develop- 
ment of  this  language.  The  Troubadours  of  the 
langue  d'oc,  and  the  Trouveres  of  the  langucd'oil 
were,  alike,  ceuxqui  trouvaient,  i.e.,  they  were  discov- 
erers in  the  art  of  expression.  With  the  former, 
rhyme  and  accent  supplied  the  "  quantity  "  of  the 
ancients,  an  exquisite  sensibility  to  music  made  the 


42  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ear  the  guide,  or  as  Sismondi  says,  the  pulsation  of 
the  heart,  and  they  became  the  inventors  of  modern 
poetry.  This  Literature  has  one  curious  character- 
istic in  the  fact  that  most  of  its  writers  were  men  of 
noble  blood.  It  was  essentially  the  creation  of  an 
aristocratic  class;  of  men  of  leisure,  wealth  and 
ardent  feeling,  untrammelled  in  the  pursuit  of  pleas- 
ure and  excitement.  Many  of  the  Troubadours  were 
sovereigns.  Guillaume  IX.,  Count  of  Poitou,  the 
celebrated  crusader  ;  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion  ;  Peter 
III.,  king  of  Aragon,  the  instigator  of  the  Sicilian 
Vespers  ;  Frederick  II.,  the  avenger  of  the  Sicilians, 
and  the  great  feudal  lords  vied  with  each  other  in 
devoting  themselves  con  amore  to  the  composition  of 
Chansons  and  Sirventes,  poems  of  love  and  war. 
The  story  of  Blondell  rescuing  his  master,  Richard 
Cceur  de  Lion,  from  imprisonment,  by  playing  a  song 
they  had  composed  together  and  being  answered 
by  Richard  from  within,  has  captivated  all  imagi- 
nations. 

Among  the  lesser  lights  we  find  Sordello,  whom 
Dante  in  his  Divine  Comedy  meets  with  Virgil 
at  the  entrance  of  Purgatory ;  Gillaume  de  Saint 
Gregory,  one  of  whose  Sirventes  is  still  preserved ; 
Peyrols  d'  Auvergne,  the  popular  chevalier,  without 
fortune,  fear  or  favor ;  Phenelte  de  Remain,  the 
Aunt  of  Petrarch's  Laura,  whose  inspiration  seemed 
to  her  contemporaries  "  un  vrai  don  de  Dieu ;  " 
Rambaud  Vaqueiras,  who  was  devotedly  attached 
to  Boniface  III.,  Marquis  of  Montferrat,  followed 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERA  TURE,      43 

him  to  Thessalonica  and  became  one  of  the  conquer- 
ors of  the  Greek  Empire  ;  Clara  d'  Anduse,  the 
Sappho  of  this  epoch,  "  whose  verses,  full  of  grace 
and  passion,  prove  that  the  gift  of  poetry  was  not 
refused  to  the  women  of  the  Middle  Age  any  more 
than  to  the  women  of  antiquity  and  those  of  our 
day  ;  "  Armand  de  Marveil,  in  whose  lyrics  much 
tenderness  and  delicacy  is  found,  and  who,  as  well  as 
Armand  Daniel,  is  mentioned  by  both  Dante  and 
Petrarch  ;  Amadieu  des  Escas,  who  has  left  "  Letters 
to  Young  Ladies,"  which  reveal  either  the  private 
manners  and  education  of  the  noble  gentlewomen  of 
that  age,  or  the  ideal  which  existed  in  the  brain  of 
the  poet,  and  hence  the  forecasting  of  those  manners 
and  that  education  ;  Pierre  Cardinal,  who  was  the 
one  satirist  among  the  Troubadours,  and  Giraude 
de  Riquier,  who  wrote  an  Epistle  to  the  king,  of 
Castile  on  the  Servility  of  the  Jugglers. 

This  great  mass  of  Literature  produced  not  one 
single  masterpiece ;  a  very  questionable  authen- 
ticity vitiates  the  few  fragments  that  remain ;  it  be- 
trays neither  lofty  ideas  nor  vivid  imagination.  But 
it  was  the  instigator  and  model  of  European  poetry  ; 
it  introduced  into  the  world's  Literature  an  element 
that  had  not  before  been  known — the  unveiling  of 
the  sentiments,  the  spontaneous  feelings,  the  unre- 
strained thoughts,  and  in  doing  this  it  becomes  a  sub- 
ject of  supreme  interest.  As  the  work  of  a  whole  peo- 
ple rather  than  of  individuals  (for  kings  aspired  to  be 
Troubadours,  not  Troubadours  kings,  and  literary 


44 


STUDIES  /Ar  CRITICISM. 


taste  was  the  bond  of  social  intercourse),  it  indicates 
an  important  step  in  the  intellectual  advancement 
of  the  race  ;  "just  as,"  Sismondi  says,  "the  return 
of  fine  weather  in  spring  is  announced  by  the 
blooming  of  the  flowers  of  the  field  and  the  verdure 
of  the  prairies,  and  not  by  some  prodigy  of  gardens, 
aided  and  seconded  by  artificial  means." 

Very  different  indeed  was  the  development  of  the 
Literature  of  the  langue  d'oil  on  the  banks  of  the 
Seine.  The  Trouveres,  for  the  most  part,  were  men 
of  humble  birth,  keen  observers,  delighting  in  the 
exercise  of  thought  rather  than  the  cultivation  of 
sentiment.  They  seem  to  have  at  once  discerned 
that  Literature  could  and  should  exist  in  other  in- 
terests than  those  of  passing  pleasure.  Instead  of 
rhyme  and  accent  they  employed  assonance  and  al- 
litteration,  the  less  sensuous  form  harmonizing  with 
their  ideas  of  the  Art  itself,  for  the  Trouveres  were 
not  writers  of  lyrics  and  ballads  like  the  Trouba- 
dours, but  of  satires,  tales,  legends  and  historical 
poems. 

The  most  ancient,  celebrated,  and  beautiful  of 
these  poems,  "  The  Song  of  Roland,"  has  come 
down  to  us  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation,  and  is 
not  likely  ever  to  lose  its  hold  on  human  interest. 
As  I  have  had  access  to  two  versions  of  the  original 
text  of  this  poem  and  its  renderings  into  modern 
French  by  Alfred  Lehugeur  and  Leon  Gautier,  I  can 
speak  of  the  great  French  Epic  with  something  more 
than  the  enthusiasm  of  mere  historical  interest. 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE 


45 


The  story  is  told  with  such  ease,  so  luminously,  so 
directly  and  pointedly,  that  its  relation  is  more 
like  the  vision  of  successive  tableaux  than  that 
demand  upon  the  fancy,  memory,  attention  and  re- 
flective powers  which  one  is  accustomed  to  associate 
with  the  thought  of  a  long  poem.  It  embodies  the 
most  striking  features  of  the  life  of  the  times. 
The  quaint,  naive  conceptions  of  the  Christian  Re- 
ligion, the  hero-worship,  the  chivalry  that  was  the 
ideal  characteristic  of  feudalism,  the  military  friend- 
ship (which  in  the  case  of  Roland  and  Oliver  is 
more  beautiful  than  that  of  Achilles  and  Patroclus), 
the  dread  and  hatred  with  which  Christian  Europe 
regarded  the  followers  of  Mahomet,  all  form  that 
net-work  of  public  sentiment  which  the  individual 
character  does  but  modify  and  illustrate. 

Charlemagne  has  hastened  to  the  rescue  of  the 
Christians  in  Spain  as  they  struggle  against  the 
Mussulman  princes,  the  threatening  disturbers  of 
the  tranquillity  and  faith  of  Europe,  and  now 

"  There  is  not  a  castle  which  holds  out  before  him, 
Not  a  city  nor  a  wall  which  still  remains  standing 
Save  Saragossa,  which  is  on  a  mountain ; 
King  Marsile  holds  it,  who  loves  not  God, 
Who  serves  Mahomet  and  prays  to  Apollo." 

"  But,"  adds  the  subtle  trouvere,  all  eager  as  he  is 
to  anticipate  both  your  dismay  and  the  course  of 
the  narrative, 

"  But  misfortune  is  going  to  overtake  him  ;  he  cannot  keep  it." 


46 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


Such  is  the  puissance  of  the  great  Charles  that 
Marsile  is  forced  to  sue  for  peace,  and  promises,  if 
Charles  leaves  the  country,  that  he  will  follow  him 
to  Aix,  and  be  "  converted  to  the  Christian  faith." 
When  the  Emperor  asks  his  nobles  what  they 
think  of  this  message,  his  nephew,  Count  Roland, 
is  the  only  one  who  advises  utter  disbelief  in  it  and 
the  prosecution  of  the  war.  This  is  in  direct  op- 
position to  the  advice  of  a  certain  Baron  Ganelon, 
so  that  when  it  is  decided  to  send  out  one  of  the 
nobles  to  Marsile  to  announce  the  acceptance  of 
his  overtures,  and  Roland  proposes  Ganelon  as  this 
ambassador,  the  latter  is  rilled  with  a  furious  wrath, 
and  resolves  to  be  avenged  upon  the  man  who  has 
thus  exposed  him  to  peril,  death  and  shame.  But 
Roland  has  really  incurred  this  misfortune  through 
an  excess  of  generosity.  He  wishes  to  go  on  the 
mission  himself.  But  the  unanimous  opinion  of 
Charlemagne  and  his  peers  is,  that  his  courage  is 
too  fearless,  his  ardor  too  untamed.  Like  all  per- 
fectly true  people,  he  never  imagines  there  is  such 
a  thing  as  hypocrisy ;  believing  Ganelon's  courage  to 
be  genuine,  he  thinks  only  of  giving  him  the  wished- 
for  opportunity  to  prove  it.  But  Ganelon,  "  le  felon, 
le  parjure,"  conspires  with  Marsile  for  his  destruc- 
tion. 

Charlemagne  receives  the  message  that  all  his 
propositions  are  acceded  to,  and  as  the  French 
army  prepares  to  leave  Spain,  Ganelon  proposes 
that  Roland  shall  have  the  command  of  the  rear- 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE.     47 

guard  through  the  defiles  of  the  Pyrenees.  It  is 
there  that  "  the  pagans "  have  planned  to  come 
upon  him.  Even  then,  had  Roland,  taken  thus  by 
surprise,  consented  to  sound  his  ivory  horn,  and 
call  the  French  army  to  his  aid,  he  could  have  been 
saved.  But  not  dreaming  that  he  has  been  be- 
trayed, such  counsel  is  received  with  scorn,  and  so 
there  in  the  vale  of  Roncevaux,  fighting  one  of  the 
most  desperate  battles  that  has  ever  been  fought,  he 
sees  the  bravest  of  the  brave  perish,  and  dying 
last  of  all,  wounded,  weak,  alone,  does  verily,  as 
the  trouvere  thinks,  offer  the  world  the  spectacle  of 
the  perfect  hero,  the  sublime  patriot,  whose  last 
thought  is  of  that  "  douce  France  "  for  which  he  so 
gladly  lays  down  his.life.  I  will  not  enter  into  the 
account  of  Charlemagne's  sorrow,  of  the  battle 
with  Marsile,  and  the  terrible  punishment  of  Gane- 
lon.  Enough  has  been  said  to  give  an  idea  of  the 
exceeding  beauty  of  the  poem.  A  thousand  in- 
imitable touches  of  the  pen,  here  and  there,  add  a 
charm  to  the  narrative  which  cannot  be  described. 
Both  Geruzez  and  Sismondi  have  given  enthusi- 
astic accounts  of  the  other  celebrated  works  in  the 
langue  d'oil,  but  these  interest  us  more  in  the  light 
of  History  than  from  a  literary  point  of  view.  The 
early  romances  of  Ogier  le  Danois,  of  the  fabulous 
Brut  or  Brutus  of  Britain,  of  Arthur  and  his 
Knights  of  the  Round  Table,  and  of  the  Quest  of 
the  San  Graal,  will  always  be  more  familiar  to  us  as 
traditions  than  as  chefs-d'oeuvre  in  Literature. 


48  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  writers  of  this  period. 
Raimbert  of  Paris  is  supposed  to  be  the  author  of 
Ogier  le  Danois ;  Chretien  de  Troyes,  of  the  San 
Graal ;  later  on,  in  the  Alexandrine  cycle  we  find 
the  names  of  Graindor  de  Douai,  Lambert  li-cors 
and  Alexandre  de  Bernai. 

Though  critics  say  one  can  find  the  History  of  the 
times  in  these  poetical  works  far  better  than  in  the 
Chronicles  which  claim  to  record  that  History,  a  very 
notable  exception  to  this  saying  is  to  be  found  in 
the  "History  of  St.  Louis "  by  his  faithful  friend 
and  zealous  admirer,  the  Sire  de  Joinville.  Nothing 
of  later  date  has  been  able  to  supplant  this  unique 
work,  and  after  the  lapse  of  centuries  it  has  even 
found  its  way  into  English.  It  conceals  nothing — 
for  the  reason  that  there  is  nothing  to  be  concealed. 
If  at  times  we  are  tempted  to  smile  over  the  crude 
conceptions  of  piety  in  that  age,  the  next  minute  we 
are  forced  to  blush  in  realizing  how  much  manlier, 
truer,  deeper  is  that  piety  than  that  which  we  have 
around  us  in  the  Nineteenth  Century.  It  is  a 
prophecy  in  Literature  of  a  style  of  writing  dearly 
loved  by  the  French.  It  shows  us  that  it  is  not 
enough  to  be  filled  with  enthusiasm  for  one's  sub- 
ject; one  must  have  a  noble  subject;  it  is  not 
enough  to  project  one's  self  upon  the  written  page ; 
that  self  must  prove  itself  worthy  to  be  projected. 

For  even  now,  at  this  early  date,  the  French  are 
beginning  to  show  themselves  very  unlike  the  other 
nations  in  their  ideas  of  Literature.  Both  the  trou- 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.      49 

badours  and  the  trouveres  had  invented  forms, 
modes,  expressions  for  thought.  This  was  not 
enough.  The  genius  that  is  peculiar  to  the  nation 
is  one  which  penetrates  and  reveals  the  spirit  or 
essence  of  the  ideas  that  are  possible  to  man  :  *'  le 
viel  esprit  Francois "  is  essentially  a  free-thinking 
spirit  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word  ;  a  spirit  "  which 
launches  without  fear  or  afterthought  upon  that 
boundless  world  of  intellect  upon  which  the  rules  ot 
conscience  and  the  difficulties  of  practical  life  im- 
pose no  limits." 

In  that  struggle  for  the  consolidation  of  new  and 
mighty  forces  which  characterizes  the  period  known 
as  the  Middle  Ages,  a  new  mode  of  expression  is 
sought ;  one  more  subtle,  more  profound,  more  in 
keeping  with  a  spirit  of  examination  and  reflection, 
in  a  word,  one  of  greater  magnetism  than  had  yet 
been  known.  It  is  in  the  Fable  that  this  viel  esprit 
Fran$ais  exults,  and  in  the  treatment  of  this  the 
French  have  never  known  a  rival. 

The  Allegory  and  the  Narrative  in  Verse  go  hand 
in  hand  with  the  Fable ;  and  the  famous  "  Romance 
of  the  Rose,"  begun  by  Guillaume  de  Lorris  and 
finished  by  Jean  de  Meung ;  the  Poems  of  the 
gambler,  Rutbceuf,  seeking  in  Art  the  refuge  that  he 
could  not  find  in  life ;  the  fame  of  Jacquemart  de 
Gelee,  writing  satirically  and  symbolically  of  the 
struggles  between  the  spiritual  and  temporal  powers, 
must  at  least  receive  a  mention.  And  one  notice- 
able feature  in  the  criticism  of  Meung's  portion  of 
4 


50  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

the  "  Romance  of  the  Rose  "  ought  not  to  be  passed 
over  in  silence,  and  that  is  the  decided  disapproba- 
tion expressed  for  the  learning  that  is  there  dis- 
played. This  is  so  thoroughly  French  and  so  sug- 
gestive that  we  may  well  dwell  upon  it  for  a  moment. 
The  French  demand  in  their  writers  enough  eru- 
dition to  make  them  stagger  under  the  load;  but 
should  so  much  as  an  exclamation  reveal  the  con- 
sciousness of  that  burden  the  offence  is  one  which 
can  never  be  forgiven.  Knowledge  of  every  kind 
must  be  so  skillfully  subordinated  to  esprit  that 
not  a  hint  betrays  its  obtrusiveness. 

The  earliest  writer  of  the  French  Fable  is  known 
simply  as  Marie  of  France.  Her  style  is  pro- 
nounced clear,  simple,  natural  and  even  elegant. 
In  "Le  Vilain  qui  Eleve  un  Corneille  "  I  find  the 
theme  which  is  hereafter  to  be  elaborated  so  exquis- 
itely by  La  Fontaine.  But  the  great  Fable  (or  rather, 
collection  of  fables)  which  was  taken  up  by  writer 
after  writer,  and  continued  after  intervals  of  years, 
was  the  celebrated  "  Roman  de  Renart."  This 
name  is  thought  by  some  critics  to  have  been  the 
name  of  a  person  boldly  given  to  the  animal  who  is 
thus  forever  identified  with  it,  and  in  this  guise  the 
representative  character  of  the  age  is  attacked  with 
a  vigor  and  a  license  which  know  no  bounds.  The 
Fabliaux  constitute  in  reality  "a  complete  writ  of 
accusation  against  the  leaders  of  society,  both  civil 
and  political,"  of  the  Middle  Ages.  They  were 
political  and  socialistic  satires,  aiming  to  lead  the 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.       5  t 

people  out  of  communism  and  anarchy  into  the  well 
ordered  paths  of  a  constitutional  monarchy. 

The  Farce  was  the  Fable  in  action.  Two  hundred 
years  before  the  time  of  Moliere  "  Le  Vilain  Mire  " 
anticipates  "  Le  Medecin  Malgre  lui,"  and  the 
secret  of  good  Comedy — the  study  of  real  life — is 
found  in  the  ancient  "  Maitre  Pathelin."  It  may 
be  as  interesting  to  others  as  it  was  to  me  to  find 
that  the  origin  of  the  indispensable  phrase,  "  Reve- 
nons  a  nos  moutons,"  may  be  traced  to  this  old 
Play.  A  woolen  draper  pleads  against  a  shepherd 
about  some  sheep  the  shepherd  had  stolen  from  him, 
and  as  he  continually  digresses  from  the  point  to 
speak  of  a  piece  of  cloth  which  his  antagonist's 
attorney  had  likewise  robbed  him  of,  the  judge  is 
continually  compelled  to  bid  him  return  to  his 
muttons. 

But  in  this  age  of  storm  and  stress  other  and 
graver  weapons  of  reform  are  not  wanting.  The 
University  of  Paris  was  at  that  time  the  center  of 
European  learning,  the  fosterer  of  democracy  and  a 
kind  of  permanent  Council  in  the  Church.  The 
Chancellor  of  the  University  was  Jean  Charlier  Ger- 
son,  who  represented  the  Church  of  France  in  the 
Councils  of  Constance  and  Basle,  and  who,  being 
alike  unimpeachable  in  piety,  profound  learning  and 
political  influence,  had  attained  the  pinnacle  of 
earthly  glory.  Glancing  into  the  History  of  the 
times  we  find  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy  and  Orleans 
contending  for  the  regency  during  the  minority  of 


52  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Charles  VII.  On  the  murder  of  the  Duke  of  Or- 
leans by  order  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  University,  fearing  nothing  but  the  con- 
demnation of  conscience,  dared  to  pronounce  a 
solemn  eulogy  upon  the  murdered  Duke.  For  this 
act  of  virtue  and  courage  he  was  condemned  to  a 
life-long  exile ;  and  then  it  was,  that,  having  re- 
nounced everything  that  men  call  great,  he  wrote 
the  immortal  and  sublime  work  entitled  "  The  Imi- 
tation of  Jesus  Christ,"  which  by  the  unanimous 
sanction  of  the  Christian  world  has  for  four  centuries 
been  pronounced  the  most  beautiful  work  that  has 
issued  from  the  hand  of  man.  The  humble  monk 
whose  name  has  so  long  been  identified  with  this 
celebrated  book  was  only  the  owner  of  the  manu- 
script and  the  writer  of  the  marginal  notes  and  com- 
ments to  which  he  has  attached  his  name.  The  real 
author  of  such  a  book  would  not  willingly  flaunt  his 
name  in  the  face  of  the  reader,  and  it  is  right  and 
fitting  that  nothing  but  internal  evidence  should  ap- 
pear to  prove  its  authorship.  The  ideal  of  a  spirit- 
ual abasement  greater  than  that  which  any  other 
man  has  dreamed  of  could  only  come  from  one  who 
"  for  conscience  sake  "  .had  relinquished  a  position 
which  was,  at  the  least,  as  exalted  as  any  that  man 
has  known. 

Passing  over  f he  fascinating  and  touching  Legends 
(of  which  Louis  Moland  gives  an  exhaustive  and 
brilliant  account),  the  Mysteries,  Moralities  and  Sot- 
tises,  which  possess  no  literary  value  and  are  to  be 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.      5  3 

regarded  merely  as  indications  of  mental  life  and 
animation,  we  find  ourselves  at  the  opening  of  a 
new  era — the  wonderful  period  of  the  Renaissance. 
Among  the  most  interesting  names  confronting  us 
are  those  of  a  group  of  scholars  gathered  together 
for  the  purpose  of  studying  the  Classics  and  enrich- 
ing and  perfecting  the  French  language.  They  are 
the  brothers  Du  Bellay,  Ronsard,  Du  Bartas,  Baif, 
De  Belleau.  They  published  a  manifesto  entitled 
"The  Defence  and  Illustration  of  the  French  Lan- 
guage." Ronsard  became  the  idol  of  the  people,  ex- 
changed verses  with  Charles  IX.  and  was  ranked 
side  by  side  with  Homer.  It  is  amusing  to  find  that 
Tasso,  trembling  and  unknown,  came  to  ask  advice 
of  the  author  of  "  Francus." 

There  were  three  schools  of  poetry  at  this  period  : 
that  of  Marot,  that  of  Ronsard  and  that  of  Malherbe. 
Marot  was  the  literary  heir  of  a  poet  known  from 
the  manner  of  his  life  and  from  his  sentiments  by 
the  name  of  Villon.  It  is  a  memorable  name,  be- 
cause its  owner  seems  to  have  been  an  ardent  culti- 
vator of  that  viel  esprit  Fran$ais,  whose  glory  it  is 
that  "it  repels  prejudice,"  and  in  falling  heir  to 
this  spirit  the  Huguenot  Marot  was  emboldened  to 
give  his  countrymen  a  translation  of  the  Psalms  in 
verse.  His  most  distinguished  disciples  were  Theo- 
dore de  Beze,  whose  Latin  version  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament is  so  well  worth  having,  and  Saint  Gelais, 
and  while  in  the  former  Marot's  naivete  develops 
into  virility,  in  the  latter  the  master's  elegance  be- 


54  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

comes  insipid  and  sterile.  The'odore  Agrippa  d'Au- 
bigne  and  Desportes  were  the  disciples  of  Ronsard. 
In  the  fierce  D'Aubigne  we  never  find  a  tender  sen- 
timent or  expression  ;  all  is  violence  and  zeal ;  and 
one  of  the  most  striking  discoveries  which  I,  myself, 
have  ever  made  in  the  curiosities  of  literary  biogra- 
phy is  that  the  maiden  name  of  Mme.  de  Maintenon 
was  Francoise  d'  Aubigne,  that  she  was  born  in  the 
town  prison  of  Niort,  that  she  was  the  grand-daugh- 
ter of  this  same  Calvinist,  Theodore  Agrippa  d'Au- 
bigne,  and  that  it  was  the  inheritance  of  his  spirit 
which  enabled  her  to  live  out  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable careers  which  will  ever  be  on  record — a 
career  in  which  there  was  not  one  single  moment  of 
''abandon  du  cceur  "  from  beginning  to  end.  Such 
far-reaching  influences  are  not  to  be  traced  every 
day. 

This  age  in  which  all  is  contradiction,  ferment 
and  distraction  was  in  Literature  an  age  of  prep- 
aration, not  achievement.  The  social,  genial,  com- 
municative spirit  of  the  French,  the  predominance 
of  the  reasoning  faculty  and  the  love  of  logic,  have 
made  them  the  masters  of  rhetoric,  and  no  people 
have  more  profoundly  honored  thought  than  they  in 
perfecting  the  instrument  of  thought.  Neither  the 
delicacy  and  grace  of  Marot  nor  the  pedantic  purism 
of  Ronsard  could  give  the  language  that  finish  and 
perfection  which  the  French  people  felt  that  it  must 
attain  before  it  could  be  the  vehicle  of  noble  ideas. 
It  was  the  school  of  Malherbe  which  gave  that  per- 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.      *  5 

spicuity,  precision  and  harmony  to  the  French  lan- 
guage which  has  led  to  the  saying  :  "  Ce  qui  n'est  pas 
clair  n'est  pas  fran9ais."  One  of  Malherbe's  most 
beautiful  poems  is  addressed  to  a  friend  on  the  death 
of  his  daughter,  and  the  lines, 

"  But  she  was  in  a  world  where  the  loveliest  things 

Have  the  worst  destiny, 
And  a  rose,  she  has  lived  as  the  roses  live, 
The  space  of  a  morning.'' 

herald  the  dawn  of  modern  lyric  poetry. 

I  suppose  no  resumt  of  French  Literature  could  be 
considered  complete  lacking  the  name  of  Rabelais  ; 
and  yet  in  my  opinion  Rabelais  is  so  essentially  un- 
French,  that,  aside  from  the  fact  that  his  name  may 
soil  my  page,  I  feel  an  unwillingness  to  speak  of 
him.  I  had  read  much  about  Rabelais  before  mere 
accident  let  his  book  fall  into  my  hands,  and  since 
then  a  very  decided  reversal  of  opinion  on  many 
points  has  taken  place.  It  is,  however,  a  satisfaction 
to  me  to  be  able  from  personal  examination  to  say 
that  the  classing  of  Rabelais  with  the  great  creators 
in  Literature,  with  Shakespeare,  Dante  and  Cervan- 
tes, is  utterly  nonsensical.  Rabelais  has  much  more 
affinity  with  the  English  than  the  French  rnind  (es- 
pecially with  the  characteristics  of  the  English  mind 
divined  by  Taine)  and  is  rather  to  be  ranked  with 
Swift,  Sterne  and  Carlyle,  the  great  fault-finders,  in 
whom  disgust  and  bitter  irony  carry  all  before  them, 
than  with  those  who  have  seen  so  much  that  is  beau- 


c;  6  STUDIES  IN  CK1TICISM. 

tiful  and  noble  in  human  nature.  Instead  of  being 
a  book  for  all  time,  "  The  Life  of  Gargantua  and  the 
Heroic  Deeds  of  Pantagruel "  is  utterly  without  sig- 
nificance or  interest  if  not  read  in  the  light  of  the 
particular  time  in  which  and  for  which  it  was  written. 
Some  critics  think  that  it  is  almost  inconceivable 
that  Rabelais  could  have  dared  to  publish  this  bitter 
satire  even  under  the  veil  of  allegory  and  buffoonery. 
But  any  admiration  of  this  kind  must  dwindle  away 
considerably  when  we  remember  that  Luther  was 
living  at  this  very  time.  Yet  if  there  are  no  great 
characters  in  the  "  Chronique  Gargantuine,"  if  as  a 
whole  it  is  scarcely  to  be  mentioned  as  a  literary  effort, 
I  am  perfectly  willing  to  acknowledge  that  there  are 
profound  ideas  scattered  throughout  it,  ideas  which 
are  still  in  advance  of  our  own  age,  and  which,  yet,  are 
at  the  foundation  of  social  renovation.  The  idea  that 
the  highest  duties  are  the  highest  pleasures ;  that  evil 
cannot  be  checked  by  rules  and  laws  ;  that  is,  by  nega- 
tive good ;  that  the  moralist  who  would  suppress  the 
practices  he  deems  evil  must  be  ready  with  his  sub- 
stitutes ;  that  knowledge  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  bless- 
ing to  the  soul,  not  as  a  toy  for  amusement  or  a  tool 
for  gain;  that  learning  is  to  be  applied  to  the  prac- 
tical purposes  of  life ;  that  with  right  surroundings 
the  soul  will  seek  and  desire  what  is  right :  these  and 
many  other  noble  ideas  redeem  the  character  of  this, 
as  they  would,  indeed,  that  of  any  book.  The  Pan- 
tagruelian  Philosophy  is  the  exaltation  of  learning, 
but  Panurge  is  a  human  being  whose  faculties  and 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.     57 

powers  are  highly  developed,  yet  he  is  without  a 
soul,  showing  that  Rabelais  felt  intellectual  power 
alone  to  be  far  from  satisfying.  But  his  view  of  life 
was  necessarily  narrow  and  one-sided,  for,  despite 
his  hatred  of  monasticism,  we  find  everywhere  traces 
of  his  early  training  and  the  impress  of  the  sexless 
mind  of  the  ex-monk.  As  I  have  already  said,  the 
book  is  most  interesting  if  read  in  the  light  of  the 
ideas  that  were  wholly  new  to  the  people  of  that 
age.  Other  nations  have  made  more  of  Rabelais 
than  the  French  themselves :  seldom  is  the  slightest 
allusion  made  either  to  himself  or  his  book  by 
Frenchmen. 

Considered  by  some  as  a  kindred  spirit,  but  a 
writer  who  has  made  a  far  deeper  impression  upon 
general  culture,  is  the  great  sceptical  philosopher  of 
this  period,  Michael  de  Montaigne.  In  view  of  all 
that  has  been  written  about  Montaigne,*  one  is 
tempted  to  believe  that  every  thinker  has  at  some 
time  made  him  the  starting  point  of  discussion. 
There  are  writers,  who,  even  through  their  writings, 
interest  us  more  as  men  than  as  authors,  and  Mon- 
taigne is  one  of  these.  In  writing  his  Essays  he  tells 
us  that  he  had  no  other  object  than  to  jot  down 
what  he  thought  and  what  he  felt  about  the  smallest 
matters  as  well  as  the  greatest.  He  says  he  had  all 
the  virtues  except  two  or  three,  that  he  never  made 
enemies  and  that  he  was  kind-hearted  and  emi- 

*  See  Geruzez,  Saint  Marc  Girardin,  St.  Beuve,  Lucas  Col- 
lins, Sir  James  Stephen,  Sterling,  Guizot,  Mennechet,  Besant. 


58  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

nently  selfish.      The  lasting  popularity  of  his  book 
seems  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  he  really  did  suc- 
ceed in  producing  a  faithful  pen-portrait  of  himself, 
an  undertaking  in  which  all  the  probabilities  are  on 
the  side  of  failure.     Montaigne  has  not  made  him- 
self out  any  better  than  he  was,    and   no   one   has 
ever  been  inclined  for  a  minute  to  be  carried  away 
with  admiration  for  him  :  and  he  has  not  made  him- 
self out  worse  than  he  was,  and   all   feel   that   any- 
thing can  be  pardoned  sooner  than  that  weak  self- 
depreciation  which  is  often  the  flimsy  covering  of  the 
deepest  vanity.     The  title  of  sceptic   has   clung   to 
him  for  want  of  a   better   designation   rather   than 
any  inherent  fitness.     Pascal  considered  Epictetus 
and  Montaigne  as  the  two  greatest  defenders  of  the 
two  most  celebrated  sects  in  the  world,  the  one  ex- 
alting human  nature  to  its  loftiest  height,  the  other 
humiliating  it  to  its  lowest  depths.     He  deemed  it 
necessary  to  know  both  to  know  the  truth.     But  it 
is  evident  that  Montaigne  had  made  a  more  pro- 
found   impression    upon     Pascal    than    Epictetus. 
though  how  a  mighty  intellect  like  Pascal's  could  be 
so  greatly  influenced  by  such  a  mediocre   intellect 
as  Montaigne's  is  one  of  the  enigmas  that  will  never 
be  solved.     There  is,  however,  something  so  genuine, 
frank  and  unpremeditated  in   Montaigne's  Essays 
that  no  intellect  can  remain   passive  under  their  in- 
fluence.     Pleasurable  temporary  excitement  there 
must  be.     He  seems    to   have   fully   realized  that 
self-duality  which  is  in  our  nature,  and  his  book  is  a 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE. 


59 


dialogue  not  between  the  rational  and  irrational  na- 
tures, but  between  the  dual  mental  nature  which  is 
recognized  only  by  the  thinker.  It  is  evident  that  he 
prided  himself  upon  the  eccentricities  of  his  charac- 
ter, and  being  keen  enough  to  discern  them  at  an 
early  date  took  no  small  pleasure  in  cultivating 
them.  His  whole  life  is  in  his  book  :  his  marked 
social  isolation  (for  he  knew  none  of  the  celebrities 
of  the  times,  and  no  one  then  dreamed  that  for  the 
tens  who  would  read  Ronsard  there  would  be  thou- 
sands who  would  read  Montaigne)  ;  his  passionate 
and  ideal  friendship  with  Etienne  de  Ja  Boe'tie  (all 
his  cynicism,  stoicism  and  scepticism  entirely  giving 
way  when  he  speaks  of  the  affection  which  had 
found  its  way  to  the  penetralia  of  his  heart,  and  no 
one  has  written  more  beautifully  of  friendship)  ;  his 
utter  incapacity  for  happiness  in  married  life  (it  be- 
ing rather  shocking  to  find  that  one  who  had  made 
the  experiment  could  write  so  disparagingly  of  it), 
and  finally,  his  intense  satisfaction  in  the  adoration 
of  Mile.  Marie  de  Gournay,  his  adopted  daughter. 

The  finest  criticism  of  Montaigne  which  I  have 
ever  encountered  is  that  of  Saint  Marc  Girardin. 
He  says  :  "  Formerly  morality  had  been  a  science 
of  the  clergy  under  the  name  of  casuistry.  It  was 
an  intricate  system,  understood  by  few.  Montaigne 
effected  the  secularization  of  morality,  a  revolution 
as  powerful  in  its  influences  as  that  of  Luther." 

It  is  in  Montaigne  that  we  find  the  beginning 
of  that  epigrammatic  prose  which  in  the  French 


60  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

"  Maxims  "  rises  to  a  point  of  perfection  never  ap- 
proached by  any  other  people.  For  instance : 
"  'Tis  a  misfortune  to  be  at  that  pass  that  the  best 
touchstone  of  the  truth  must  be  the  multitude  of 
believers,  in  a  crowd  where  the  number  of  fools  so 
much  exceeds  the  wise."  And  again  :  "  We  must 
be  content  with  the  light  which  it  pleases  the  sun  to 
communicate  to  us  by  its  rays  :  let  not  him  who 
would  lift  his  eyes  to  take  a  greater  portion  into  his 
own  body  find  it  strange  if,  as  c,  punishment  for  his 
temerity,  he  loses  his  sight."  Montaigne  is  best 
contrasted  in  point  of  style  with  his  contemporary 
Amyot,  the  translator  of  Plutarch.  Amyot  repre- 
sents the  patois  wallon,  marked  by  grace,  elegance, 
delicacy;  Montaigne,  the  Gascon,  lively,  petulant 
and  bold. 

Standing  on  the  threshold  of  the  great  century 
whose  grand  characteristic  is  its  instinct  of  com- 
panionship as  to  Literature  and  Art,  we  have  still  to 
consider  the  fame  of  one  who,  self-condemned  to  an 
isolation  "  such  as  no  anchorite  ever  emulated," 
has  been  pronounced  the  greatest  genius  of  the 
French  nation.  Perhaps  no  single  mind  has 
wielded  so  extended  an  influence  as  the  mind  of 
Rene  Des  Cartes,  and  certainly  no  philosopher  ever 
wielded  a  more  practical  and  beneficent  influence. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  read  the  "  Discours  de  la 
Methode  "  to  know  the  peculiar  features  of  the  Carte- 
sian Philosophy.  All  subsequent  French  Literature 
is  the  reflection  of  that  Philosophy.  But  unlike  other 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE.       6 1 

purely  philosophical  writings,  those  of  Des  Cartes 
have  a  literary  value — the  secret  of  their  unparalleled 
popularity  when  first  published,  and,  in  part,  the  ex- 
planation of  their  perennial  charm  for  the  book- 
loving  of  each  succeeding  generation.  The  glory  of 
having  been  the  first  through  the  long  march  of  the 
ages  to  dethrone  Aristotle,  and  of  being  the  in- 
ventor of  German  Philosophy  (for  when  detractors 
of  the  French  ask  sneeringly  what  they  have  in- 
vented, the  answer  must  be  this  at  least),*  pales 
before  that  of  giving  life  and  character  to  the  entire 
Literature  of  a  great  people. 

The  works  of  Des  Cartes  were  not  only  read  at 
once  by  everybody;  they  became  the  theme  of  uni- 
versal discussion  and  the  model  of  all  good  writing. 
A  foreigner  must  wonder  how  it  was  that  the  society 
people  of  France  could  be  so  carried  away  with  the 
abstruse  speculations  of  the  most  subtle  of  metaphy- 
sicians. It  is  explained  most  delightfully  by  Taine. 
The  Cartesian  Philosophy  teaches  the  art  of  grasping 
universal  truths.  "  Now,"  says  Taine,  "  the  leading 
by  an  agreeable  path  to  general  notions,  the  taste 
for  these  notions,  as  well  as  the  custom  of  treading 
this  path,  is  the  peculiar  mark  of  well-bred  people." 
So  then,  greatly  to  our  astonishment,  we  find  the 
exile  in  Amsterdam  and  the  gay  world  of  Paris  in 
most  perfect  harmony  as  to  the  true  aims  and  ob- 
jects of  intellectual  culture.  Social  intercourse  has 
been  brought  to  such  a  state  of  perfection  in  France 
*  See  Sir  James  Stephens  and  J.  S.  Mill. 


62  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

only  because  refined  tastes  and  agreeable  occupa- 
tions go  hand  in  hand  with  mental  development  and 
actual  achievement  in  some  province  of  thought. 

The  great  century  opens  with  a  very  pleasing  pict- 
ure in  the  Hotel  Rambouillet,  where  the  gifted  men 
and  women  of  the  age  gathered  around  the  charm- 
ing Catherine  de  Vivonne,  the  Marquise  de  Ram- 
bouillet. That  literary  court  where  manners  were 
refined  and  the  aristocracy  of  intellect  proclaimed 
did  a  noble  work  for  France.  Not  only  were  spark- 
ling and  animated  conversations  en  regie ;  it  became 
and  long  continued  the  fashion  to  discuss  and  circu- 
late writings  in  manuscript,  so  that  no  literary  effort 
could  be  a  complete  abortion  and  every  writer  was 
judged  by  his  peers. 

Voiture,  Balzac,  Bense'rade,  Menage,  Mile,  de 
Scudery,  Sarrazin,  D'Urfe,  Mme.  Deshoulieres, 
Mme.  de  La  Fayette,  Mme.  de  Sable  and  Mme.  de 
Sevigne  are  the  most  prominent  names  of  the  Hotel 
Rambouillet. 

Balzac,  author  of  the  "  Christian  Socrates  "  and 
"  Conversations  with  Menander,"  was  the  oracle  of 
the  society ;  Voiture,  who  excelled  every  one  in 
agreeable  jesting  and  brilliant  conversation,  was  its 
hero.  Of  Madeleine  de  Scudery  Ste.  Beuve  says : 
"  She  was  one  of  the  institutions  of  the  century  at 
the  moment  of  formation  and  transition."  But  she 
was  much  more  :  the  first  to  bear  away  the  prize  for 
eloquence  founded  by  the  Academy,  her  career 
extended  throughout  the  century  and  neither  time 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.        63 

nor  criticism  had  power  to  dim  the  brilliancy  of  that 
career.  D'Urfe  had  invented  a  kind  of  romance 
on  the  order  of  the  ancient  eclogue  and  idyl,  the 
lords  and  ladies  of  the  Court  being  disguised  as 
shepherds  and  shepherdesses.  In  the  "  Cyrus  "  and 
"  Clelie  "  of  Mile,  de  Scudery  the  lords  and  ladies 
were  transformed  into  the  heroes  of  antiquity. 
Character-painting  became  the  fashion  of  the  day, 
an  amusement  in  which  the  great  Mademoiselle,  as 
she  was  called  (Mile,  de  Montpensier,  Louis  XIV.'s 
cousin),  delighted  and  excelled.  Her  own  character 
must  have  been  one  of  the  strongest  of  the  age,  full 
of  verve,  vim  and  boundless  energy.  Through  her 
personal  interposition  for  Condd  both  at  Orleans 
and  at  the  Bastile,  the  war  of  the  Fronde  was 
brought  to  a  close.  A  probable  reaction  setting  in 
after  such  excitement,  and  in  default  of  the  active 
career  denied  by  her  position,  she  became  deeply 
interested  in  a  certain  M.  de  Lauzun  and  formed 
the  extraordinary  project  of  marrying  him  :  and 
although  the  king  forbade  that  the  marriage  should 
be  made  public,  the  affair  was,  of  course,  generally 
known,  and  gave  eclat  to  the  originality,  strength 
and  independence  of  the  Great  Mademoiselle,  en- 
dearing her  to  the  people.  The  "  Divers  Portraits  " 
which  were  her  favorite  pastime,  and  never  looked 
upon  as  anything  but  a  pastime,  suggested  and 
finally  issued  in  "  Les  Caracteres  "  of  La  Bruyere, 
one  of  the  most  agreeable  moral  dissertations  ever 
written, 


64  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

La  Bruyere's  style  is  not  only  inimitable,  but 
altogether  untranslatable.  One  would  not  know 
that  any  language  could  be  so  piquant,  vivacious 
and  brilliant  had  he  never  written.  But  while  his 
humor  is  delicious,  his  sarcasm  is  withering,  and 
whom  does  it  not  reach  ?  The  compact  little  classic 
seems  to  treat  of  everything.  Despairing  of  convey- 
ing any  just  idea  either  of  his  subject  or  style,  I  am 
yet  unwilling  to  give  up  the  attempt.  Speaking  of 
the  much  berated  subject  of  Platonic  friendship,  he 
says :  "  Friendship  may  exist  between  the  sexes 
exempt  from  everything  objectionable.  A  woman, 
however,  always  regards  a  man  as  a  man,  and  re- 
ciprocally a  man  regards  a  woman  as  a  woman. 
This  connection  is  neither  passion  nor  pure  friend- 
ship ;  it  forms  a  class  apart."  In  anatomizing  the 
heart,  he  says  :  "  We  wish  to  make  all  the  happi- 
ness, or  if  that  cannot  be,  all  the  unhappiness,  of 
the  one  we  love  :  "  and  again  :  "  The  heart  alone 
conciliates  contrary  things  and  admits  the  incom- 
patible." There  is  penetration  in  the  saying: 
"  Liberality  consists  less  in  giving  much  than  in 
giving  appropriately." 

And  now  every  great  name  suggests  another.  It 
is  not  possible  to  speak  of  Mme.  de  La  Fayette  and 
not  of  La  Rochefoucauld.  The  one  created  the  ver- 
itable Romance;  the  other  embodied  the  observa- 
tions and  reflections  of  a  penetrating  intellect  and  a 
stormy  life  in  a  series  of  pithy  sayings  which  were 
universally  recognized  as  Maxims, 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.       65 

For  Mme.  de  La  Fayette's  celebrated  book, 
"The  Princess  of  Cleves,"  there  is  nothing  but 
praise.  It  is  a  masterly  analysis  of  the  human 
heart  and  anticipates  the  situation  developed  in 
"  Polyeucte,"  "  Hamlet "  and  "  Romola," — the  com- 
bat between  love  and  duty,  a  theme  chosen  only  by 
the  greatest  artists. 

The  life  of  La  Rochefoucauld  seems  to  divide 
itself  naturally  into  four  periods,  each  known  by  his 
friendship  with  a  distinguished  woman.  His  first 
years  of  social  and  political  life  were  spent  in  devo- 
tion to  Mme.  de  Chevreuse,  the  enemy  of  Richelieu, 
whose  intrigues,  however  brilliant  and  exciting,  ter- 
minated in  flight  and  exile.  When,  therefore,  he 
entered  upon  the  Fronde  and  his  connection  with 
Mme.  de  Longueville  we  are  not  surprised  to  find 
him  playing  a  very  unworthy  part.  He  emerged 
from  the  Fronde  without  distinction  of  any  kind, 
nearly  blind,  disappointed  and  irritated.  It  is  dur- 
ing this  third  period,  at  the  salon  of  Mme.  de  Sable 
that  he  becomes  a  moralist.  His  Maxims  do  not, 
indeed,  contain  any  inculcation  of  morality,  nor  do 
they  pretend  to  reveal  new  impulses  to  duty  and 
right  living.  They  are  simply  statements,  "holding 
the  mirror  up  to  nature,"  and  relying  upon  this  indi- 
rect means  for  their  effect.  The  following  may  not 
be  the  best,  but  they  are  those  with  which  I  per- 
fectly agree : 

"  Greater  virtues  are   necessary  to  sustain  pros- 
perity than  adversity." 
5 


66  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

"  The  mind  attaches  itself  by  indolence  and 
habit  to  that  which  is  easy  or  agreeable.  This 
habit  always  puts  limits  to  our  knowledge,  and  never 
does  any  one  take  the  trouble  to  extend  and  conduct 
his  mind  as  far  as  it  could  go." 

"  There  is  no  disguise  that  can  long  conceal  love 
where  it  is,  or  feign  it  where  it  is  not." 

"  The  desire  to  talk  of  ourselves  and  to  make 
known  our  faults  from  the  point  of  view  that  we 
wish  them  to  be  looked  at  makes  up  a  great  portion 
of  our  sincerity." 

"It  belongs  only  to  great  men  to  have  great 
faults." 

"  There  are  reproaches  that  praise,  and  praises 
which  reproach." 

"  We  have  more  power  than  will,  and  it  is  often 
to  make  excuses  to  ourselves  that  we  imagine 
things  are  impossible." 

The  portrait  which  La  Rochefoucauld  draws  of 
himself  in  his  Memoirs  harmonizes  well  with  the 
Maxims.  Their  author  is  melancholy,  has  moral  in- 
clinations and  feelings  and  loves  to  talk  of  them  ;  is 
not  carried  away  by  ambition  and  is  conscious  that 
he  is  not  capable  of  great  passions  :  finally,  his 
character  is  full  of  a  fatal  irresolution  and  he  seems 
born  to  be  an  observer  rather  than  an  actor  on  life's 
stage.  It  was  during  the  last  years  of  his  life  that 
he  was  happy  in  the  friendship  of  Mme.  de  La 
Fayette,  whose  "  Princess  of  Cleves  "  was  written  to 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.       67 

repudiate  the  calumny  by  which  the  vulgar  seek  to 
suppress  the  friendships  they  cannot  comprehend. 

We  like  best  to  associate  La  Rochefoucauld  with 
Mine,  de  La  Fayette,  because  she  had  the  profound 
satisfaction  of  saying,  "  He  made  me  clever,  but  I 
reformed  his  heart."  But  the  fame  of  the  keen 
thinker  is  much  more  closely  connected  with  Mme. 
de  Sable. 

M.  Cousin  gives  us  a  study  of  her  character  as 
one  of  the  representative  characters  of  the  Seven- 
teenth Century,  not  so  well  defined  or  distinctive  a 
type,  perhaps,  but,  nevertheless,  one  of  the  most  val- 
uable portraits  of  this  all-engrossing  age.  While  no 
remarkable  merit  in  any  one  department  is  claimed 
for  her,  she  is  still  remarkable  throughout  her  life. 
After  her  unhappy  manage  de  convenance  we  find 
her  at  the  Hotel  Rambouiller,  charming  every  one  by 
her  preeminent  fitness  for  social  life.  Indeed  she 
seems  to  have  had  a  genius  for  friendship,  and  the 
many  cordial  letters  from  the  most  distinguished 
people  of  the  time  still  testify  to  the  interest  she 
excited.  Remaining  true  to  the  Queen  and  Mazarin 
during  the  Fronde,  she  still  retained  the  unwavering 
friendship  of  the  Comte  and  Comtesse  de  Maure, 
fiery  Frondeurs,  and  even  that  of  Mme.  de  Longue- 
ville.  Often  did  she  intervene  to  soften  animosities 
and  conciliate  the  unfriendly.  We  find  her  at  the 
Saturday  receptions  of  Mile,  de  Scudery,  a  true  pre'- 
cieuse,  taking  active  part  in  the  preparation  of  the 
"  Divers  Portraits."  Later,  Mme.  de  Sable  went  to 


68  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

live  among  the  Port  Royalists  of  Paris,  influenced 
by  the  conversion  of  Mine,  de  Longueville,  though 
the  latter  was  not  yet  a  Jansenist.  Here  she  some- 
times lived  in  great  seclusion,  disappearing  entirely 
from  the  world.  But,  again,  she  would  make  her 
little  house  a  miniature  Hotel  Rambouillet.  Nicole, 
Arnauld,  Dornat,  Pascal,  Mme.  Perier,  the  Princess 
Guymene,  Mme.  de  Hautefort,  La  Rochefoucauld 
and  Mme.  de  La  Fayette  gathered  around  her. 
Mme.  de  Sable"s  talent  consisted  in  a  politeness  that 
left  nothing  to  be  desired.  Her  tact,  her  cultivated 
taste  and  happy  manner  never  failed  to  send  her 
visitors  away  in  an  agreeable  frame  of  mind.  To 
her  salon  French  Literature  owes  a  distinct  style  of 
writing — Maxims,  Sentences  and  Thoughts.  'A  few 
unpublished  writings  from  her  own  pen  have  been 
found,  on  the  Education  of  Children,  on  Friendship, 
and  a  few  Maxims.  But  the  intellectual  work  of 
her  life  was  accomplished  in  influencing  the  writ- 
ings of  La  Rochefoucauld.  It  is  noticeable  that  the 
idea  of  man's  utter  worthlessness  prominent  in  this 
celebrated  writer  is  an  harmonious  accompaniment 
to  Jansenism.  It  is  also  more  than  probable  that 
we  should  never  have  had  the  Pensees  of  Pascal 
but  for  this  salon.  Among  the  most  interesting 
correspondents  of  Mme.  de  Sable  were  the  great 
Angelique  Arnauld ;  Gabrielle  de  Rochechouart 
sister  of  Mme.  de  Montespan  and  Abbess  of  Fontev- 
rault ;  the  Comtesse  de  Maure,  who,  had  her  atten- 
tion been  given  to  Literature,  would  have  made 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.       69 

another  Saint-Simon ;  Arnauld  d'  Andilly  and 
Voiture.  But  as  the  very  object  of  her  existence 
seems  to  have  been  to  make  other  people  appear,  it 
would  be  useless  to  attempt  to  mention  the  numer- 
ous throng  around  her.  No  taint  or  spot  rests  upon 
her.  She  has  shown  the  world  that  a  society 
woman  can  be  pure  and  lovable  to  the  last. 

In  striking  contrast  with  the  gentle,  spirituelle 
Mme.  de  Sable  is  her  gifted  and  brilliant  contem- 
porary, Mme.  cle  Sevigne.  How  one  devours  the 
charming  Letters  to  her  Daughter,  which  from  any 
other  pen  would  exhaust  all  patience  !  Macaulay 
said  to  M.  Guizot :  "  Amongst  modern  works  I  know 
only  two  perfect  ones,  to  which  there  is  no  exception 
to  be  taken,  and  they  are  Pascal's  *  Provincials  ' 
and  the  Letters  of  Mme.  de  SeVigne."  Nothing 
escapes  the  penetrating,  versatile  writer,  and  these 
Letters  give  one  a  better  idea  of  the  age  than  any 
History  can  give.  The  Literature  of  the  period,  the 
pulpit  eloquence,  foreign  and  domestic  politics,  the 
disgraceful  wars  of  Louis  XIV.,  the  Court-life, — 
all  are  discussed  with  that  admirable  finesse  which 
belongs  to  genius  alone.  The  critic,  Roche,  says : 
"  There  is  perhaps  no  woman  who  has  carried  the 
taste  for  books  so  far."  Thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  Literature  of  her  own  country,  she  also  read 
Latin  and  Italian  authors  with  as  much  delight  as 
ease,  and  so  lightly  did  all  this  learning  rest  upon 
her,  that  she  never  seemed  conscious  of  the  burden, 
but  simply  enjoyed  it  and  laughingly  acknowledged 


70  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

that  it  was  always  "  at  the  tip  of  her  pen."  But  her 
greatest  glory  is  that  never  does  this  well-trained, 
cultivated,  astute  intellect  get  the  better  of  her 
heart,  and  we  are  charmed  to  find  that  "  there  are 
certain  of  La  Rochefoucauld's  Maxims  which  she 
does  not  understand."  Writing  with  all  the  ease, 
grace  and  abandon  of  one  who  never  wrote  for 
fame,  Mine,  de  Sevigne  effaced  the  glory  of  Balzac 
and  dimmed  that  of  Voiture  ;  her  letters  were  cir- 
culated among  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances  and 
known  by  certain  titles  long  before  they  were  col- 
lected and  published. 

This  literary  society  had,  as  we  have  noticed, 
gathered  around  the  affable  hostess  of  a  private 
dwelling.  It  is  to  the  immortal  glory  of  Louis  XIV. 
that  he  was  not  content  to  have  it  so.  Though  all 
external  things  were  prepared  to  make  the  age  a 
remarkable  one,  it  was  the  individuality  of  the  King 
— une  grande  ame — that  made  it  what  it  was.  He 
inspired  all  to  do  their  best.  It  was  the  ambition  of 
his  life  to  reform  his  kingdom,  beautify  his  Court 
and  perfect  the  Arts.  The  Court-Literature  of  France 
is  unlike  any  other.  There  is  in  it  the  most  per- 
fect equilibrium  of  style  and  subject-matter,  the 
most  exquisite  adaptation  of  form  to  idea,  the  clear- 
ness and  the  brilliancy  not  of  the  natural  crystal, 
but  of  the  polished  gem. 

Of  the  three  great  writers  who  make  its  chief 
glory,  Corneille,  Moliere  and  Racine,  Moliere  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  wonderful.  Other  writers,  as  well 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.       j  \ 

as  Corneille  and  Racine,  have  succeeded  in  Tragedy, 
but  Moliere  is  the  only  writer  of  genuine  Comedy. 
He  shows  us  what  real  gayety  is,  the  dearest  pos- 
session of  a  Frenchman.  But  it  is  not  the  gayety 
of  Moliere  that  is  most  striking.  A  profound  phi- 
losophy, an  inculcation  of  morality  relying  solely 
upon  ridicule  and  not  at  all  upon  pedantry,  bom- 
bast or  cant,  and  a  fearless  courage  in  attacking  the 
weaknesses  not  only  of  humanity,  but  of  this 
special  age,  the  Court,  the  society,  the  character  of 
the  men  and  women  around  him,  combine  to  make 
these  Comedies  the  most  remarkable  that  have  ever 
been  written. 

It  is  said  that  "  Les  Femmes  Savantes  "  was  di- 
rected immediately  against  the  affectation  and  false 
taste  generated  in  the  Hotel  Rambouillet.  Truly 
does  it  reduce  pedantry  and  self-conceit  to  an  un- 
utterable absurdity.  Among  the  characters  there 
is  scarcely  one  free  from  ridicule.  These — the 
husband  and  wife,  Chrisale  and  Philaminte  ;  the  two 
daughters,  Armande  and  Henriette ;  the  uncle  and 
aunt,  Ariste  and  Belise ;  Clitandre,  the  lover  of 
Henriette  and  Trissotin,  "le  bel  esprit,"  are  vividly 
drawn  and,  once  known,  cannot  easily  be  forgotten. 
Chrisale  is  completely  under  the  control  of  his  dic- 
tatorial, domineering  wife.  His  brother,  Ariste,  in 
opening  his  eyes  to  the  fact,  does  more,  for  he  says  : 

"  Your  wife,  between  ourselves, 
Is  by  your  weaknesses  your  ruler, 
Her  power  is  only  founded  on  your  feebleness." 


72  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

This  is  one  of  Moliere's  most  admirable  traits ;  it  is 
by  such  slight  touches  that  he  shows  us  how  the 
negative  failings  of  some  form  a  basis  for  the  posi- 
tive wrong  doings  of  others.  The  pedantry  of 
Philaminte  is  made  more  ridiculous  than  that  of  the 
other  "  philosophies."  This  is  due  to  the  facf  that 
women  in  France  had  played,  and  were  in  Moliere's 
time  playing,  a  conspicuous  and  responsible  role, 
and  the  direction  of  their  studies  was  affecting 
national  education  and  the  future  Literature  of  the 
country.  Voltaire  says  "  the  number  of  women  who 
made  this  great  century  illustrious  is  one  of  the 
great  proofs  of  the  progress  of  the  human  mind." 
Mme.  Dacier,  whom  he  calls  "  one  of  the  prodigies 
of  the  century,"  translated  the  Iliad,  and  M.  Cousin 
says  "  it  is  the  only  French  version  of  the  ancient 
and  naive  epic  worth  reading.  Abundance,  simplic- 
ity, energy  and  movement  are  not  wanting  and  the 
general  impression  that  it  makes  on  the  mind  of 
the  reader  does  not  differ  from  that  produced  by 
Homer."  Mme.  de  Sevigne'  tells  Mme.  de  Grignan 
that  in  reading  Petrarch  she  must  be  sure  to  read 
the  Commentary  by  Mile,  de  Scudery. 

Habitues  of  the  Hotel  Rambouillet,  both  men  and 
women,  called  themselves  les  precieuses,  i.e.,  those 
who  wrote  and  spoke  with  elegance.  Moliere's 
Play,  "Les  Precieuses  Ridicules,"  satirizes  them  un- 
mercifully, but  as  it  has  more  of  a  local  and  passing 
interest,  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  the  "  Learned 
Women,"  which  had  a  more  direct  influence  in 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE. 


73 


turning  the  tide  of  ambition  and  leading  to  that  envi- 
able type  of  character  which  has  made  a  Frenchman 
say  :  "  It  is  to  our  women  that  we  owe  that  genius 
for  conversation,  that  keen  sense  of  the  proprieties, 
that  delicacy  of  sentiment,  that  urbanity  of  language 
which  have  distinguished  French  Literature  among 
all  the  Literatures  of  Europe." 

Chrisale  makes  himself  rather  ridiculous  in  his 
tirade  against  learned  women.  But  Clitandre  ex- 
presses a  good  idea  in  saying, 

"  I  do  not  wish  her  to  have  the  shocking  passion 
Of  desiring  to  be  learned  in  order  to  be  learned." 

The  plot  turns  upon  the  marriage  of  Henriette 
with  Clitandre,  who  is  thoroughly  sensible  through- 
out. But  Henriette's  mother  wishes  to  marry  her 
to  the  savant,  Trissotin,  whose  flattery  she  returns 
in  full  measure.  Chrisale  and  Ariste  are  deter- 
mined that  the  young  girl  shall  not  be  sacrificed  to 
this  whim,  and  to  checkmate  Philaminte,  Ariste 
arranges  a  little  snare.  Notice  arrives  that  the 
parents  of  Henriette  are  bankrupt.  Trissotin  at 
once  withdraws  his  claim,  and  even  Philaminte  is 
forced  to  acknowledge  his  baseness.  Henriette 
wishes  to  release  the  faithful  Clitandre,  when  Ariste 
makes  known  that  it  is  simply  a  test  he  has,  himself, 
applied  to  the  lovers,  and  the  marriage  takes  place 
and  all  ends  happily.  Belise,  who  imagines  every 
man  enamored  of  her,  is  ridiculous  to  the  last. 
Armande,  the  envious  sister,  is  not  happy  herself  and, 


74 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


consequently,  is  unwilling  that  any  one  else  should 
be.  Trissotin's  poetry  and  the  comments  of  his 
affected  hearers  are  very  droll.  The  Play  is  a  bold 
satire  upon  certain  literary  aspirants  of  the  day. 

"  Le  Bourgeois  Gentilhomme "  is  perhaps  the 
most  thoroughly  humorous  of  Moliere's  Comedies. 
It  is  the  portrait  of  a  parvenu  who  considers  it  "  an 
honor  to  lend  his  money  to  a  person  of  condition." 
M.  Jourdain,  his  wife  and  daughter,  Cleonte,  the 
lover  of  this  daughter,  her  maid  and  his  valet, 
a  marquise  and  her  lover  are  the  chief  char- 
acters. At  every  step  M.  Jourdain  (le  bourgeois), 
in  his  desire  to  ape  the  gentleman  of  leisure, 
makes  himself  a  dupe.  In  his  lessons  in  dancing, 
music,  military  tactics  and  philosophy,  especially 
in  this  last,  he  is  truly  ridiculous.  One  cannot 
remain  unmoved  when,  in  learning  to  write  a 
letter,  he  says :  "  I  do  not  wish  either  prose  or 
verse."  To  which  his  master  gravely  replies  :  "  You 
must  have  one  or  the  other."  The  "Why?"  of 
Jourdain  which  follows  is  certainly  a  masterly  ex- 
position of  his  thoroughly  feeble  intellect  and  of  the 
monstrous  degree  of  self-love  that  could  blind  him 
to  it. 

The  most  interesting  portion  of  this  play  to  me 
is  the  conversation  between  Cleonte  and  Covielle 
about  Lucile,  which  is  said  to  be  a  description  of 
Moliere's  wife,  the  young  girl  of  seventeen  whom  he 
married  at  the  age  of  forty.  The  whole  passage, 
beginning  : 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.       75 

"  In  the  first  place  she  has  small  eyes." 

"  It  is  true  she  has  small  eyes,  but  they  are  full  of  fire,  the 
most  brilliant,  the  most  piercing  in  the  world,  the  most  touch- 
ing that  one  can  see  :  " 

and  ending  with, 

"  I  wish  to  know  the  strength  of  my  heart  to  hate  her,  to 
leave  her,  beautiful,  full  of  attractions,  amiable  as  I  find  her," 

explains  Moliere's  endeavors  to  overcome  his  pas- 
sion for  so  unworthy  an  object  and  his  hopeless 
infatuation.  Colored  by  a  knowledge  of  the  perse- 
cutions which  he  suffered  for  his  moral  courage,  of 
the  trials  incident  to  his  life  as  an  actor,  of  the 
intense  physical  pain  which  he  endured  and  which 
terminated  in  his  death  on  the  stage  in  the  midst 
of  a  Play  for  the  amusement  and  entertainment  of 
people,  this  revelation  of  a  betrayed  and  wounded 
heart  gives  a  sacredness  to  the  august  name  of 
Moliere. 

The  development  of  "  Le  Bourgeois  Gentil- 
homme  "  culminates  in  the  marriage  of  Lucile  and 
Cleonte.  The  latter  confesses  that  he  is  not  a  gen- 
tleman in  M.  Jourdain's  acceptation  of  the  word, 
and  le  bourgeois  refuses  him  his  daughter,  though 
the  young  man  is  in  every  way  worthy  of  her.  Their 
friends  then  join  in  a  conspiracy  to  entrap  Jourdain 
by  the  very  means  he  has  himself  discovered  to 
them.  They  pretend  that  Cleonte  is  the  son  of  the 
Grand  Turk.  M.  Jourdain  is  at  once  overcome  with 


76  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

the  honor  and  glory  that  will  accrue  to  himself  as 
the  father-in-law  of  so  distinguished  a  person.  It  is 
impossible  to  imagine  a  more  perfect  foil  than  the 
one  for  which  this  man,  himself,  has  forged  the 
instruments  and  prepared  the  means.  By  a  few 
strokes  of  his  magic  pen,  Moliere  shows  that  "  our 
deeds  are  our  doomsmen." 

"  The  Misanthrope  "  is  the  most  poetical  and  the 
most  tragic  of  the  Plays.  Alceste,  the  hero,  is  so 
disgusted  with  the  world's  flatteries,  fawnings,  and 
civilities  which  "  treat  the  honorable  man  and  the 
rascal  in  the  same  way,"  that  he  avows  his  hatred 
of  the  whole  human  race.  His  friend,  Philinte,  has 
an  entirely  different  disposition  and  thinks  it  a 
folly  without  equal  to  attempt  to  reform  the  world. 

When  an  aspiring  author  reads  his  sonnet  to 
Alceste  and  Philinte,  the  latter  declares  himself 
charmed,  while  Alceste  is  unsparing  in  his  criticism. 
Here  Alceste  appears  honest  and  straightforward 
and  gains  our  respect,  while  Philinte  is  either  inca- 
pable of  judging  or  a  base  flatterer.  But  while 
Alceste  wishes  to  condemn  the  whole  world  he  finds 
himself  the  victim  of  une  grande passion  for  the  typi- 
cal French  coquette,  Celimene.  There  is  something 
very  comical  in  this  situation.  The  young  widow  of 
twenty  years  is  surrounded  by  lovers,  and  as  she  is 
perfectly  convinced  of  her  own  attractions  she  says 
and  does  what  she  pleases.  It  is  during  the  visits 
of  her  admirers  that  Moliere  pujs  into  her  mouth  his 
most  cutting  sarcasms  on  the  foibles  of  the  human 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE. 


77 


family.  "The  man  who  says  everything  in  one's 
ear "  ;  the  "  tiresome  relator  of  anecdotes "  ;  the 
"poor-spirited  woman";  the  "man  inflated  with 
self-love  " ;  he  "  who  labors  to  be  witty  "  find  no 
mercy  from  the  audacious  belle. 

All  this  time  Alceste  has  a  lawsuit,  which,  disap- 
proving of  the  ordinary  means  taken  to  secure  suc- 
cess, he  refuses  to  aid  and  consequently  loses. 
Just  at  this  juncture,  Arsinoe,  the  spiteful  prude, 
who  forms  a  striking  contrast  to  Celimene,  reveals 
to  him  the  real  character  of  his  lady-love.  She  has 
overstepped  all  bounds  in  writing  most  equivocally 
to  two  of  her  friends,  "  taking  off  "  her  other  admir- 
ers, and  especially  Alceste,  in  the  most  uncalled-for 
sarcasm.  All  eyes  are  opened.  But  Alceste  is  so 
completely  ensnared  that  he  is  willing  to  excuse  all, 
even  this  "unkindest  cut  of  all,"  if  Ce'limene  will 
agree  to  retire  with  him  from  the  world.  But  the 
heartless  coquette  has  no  idea  of  relinquishing  the 
admiration  that  has  made  so  large  a  part  of  her 
happiness,  and  the  broken-hearted  misanthrope  de- 
clares himself 

"  Betrayed  on  every  side,  overwhelmed  with  injustices." 

It  is  impossible  not  to  regret  that  the  many  good 
qualities  which  Alceste  possesses  should  be  so  over- 
shadowed by  his  morose,  gloomy,  ungenerous  tem- 
per. Moliere  seems  to  teach  here  that  sympathy 
with  our  fellow  men  is  the  surest  preventive  to 
betrayals,  impostures  and  injustices.  Certainly  by 


78  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

putting  ourselves  in  the  places  of  others  we  gain  an 
insight  of  character  which  no  other  means  can  give. 
And  he  who  has  eradicated  his  own  weaknesses 
will  be  the  last  to  be  a  censor  of  other  men. 

Corneille,  the  sublime  painter  of  heroism,  is  of  all 
the  great  writers  of  France,  the  only  representative 
of  that  type  of  genius  which  is  artless,  naive,  unre- 
flecting. He  cared  nothing  for  the  art  of  writing, 
and  still  less  for  the  canons  of  good  taste  and 
approved  style,  and  never  spoke  his  own  language 
correctly.  Fully  realizing  the  inexplicable  power  of 
genius,  he  abandoned  himself  to  its  guidance  and 
followed  wherever  it  might  lead.  An  actor  once 
brought  certain  of  Corneille's  lines  to  him  to  have 
their  meaning  explained.  Corneille  replied  :  "  I  do 
not  understand  them  any  too  well  myself,  but  keep 
on  reciting  them ;  those  who  do  not  understand 
them  will  be  the  very  ones  to  admire  them,"  in 
which  remark  there  is  a  whole  volume  of  instruction 
as  to  the  scope  and  intent  of  imaginative  writing. 

Corneille  showed  his  implicit  reliance  upon  the 
self-sufficiency  of  genius  in  choosing  the  subject  of 
the  Cid ; — a  Spanish  piece,  representing  the  ene- 
mies of  France  and  Richelieu  in  the  most  favorable 
light ;  a  piece  in  honor  of  the  duel,  which  Richelieu 
had  prosecuted  with  rigorous  justice ;  finally,  a 
piece  in  which  ^he  ideas  of  royal  majesty  were 
totally  opposed  to  those  prevailing  around  him. 
But  the  fact  that  everything  was  against  it,  combined 
with  that  of  its  complete  and  perfect  triumph,  in- 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.       79 

creased   its    renown   ten-fold,   and  to  this  day  the 
French  people  say  :  "  Beautiful  as  the  Cid." 

It  is  the  story  of  lovers  who,  when  just  about  to 
be  married,  find  their  fathers  embroiled  in  a  deadly 
feud.  Don  Gormas,  the  father  of  Chimene,  has  in- 
sulted Don  Diegue,  the  father  of  Rodrigue,  and 
nothing  remains  for  Rodrigue  but  to  avenge  the 
outrage,  while  Chimene  has  the  horrible  alternative 
before  her  of  seeing  her  father  or  her  lover  killed 
by  the  other.  Don  Gormas  is  killed.  And  now  the 
struggle  in  the  breast  of  the  unhappy  girl  is  greater 
than  ever,  for  honor,  pride  and  filial  tenderness  com- 
pel her  to  fulfill  the  cruel  duty  of  demanding  justice 
from  the  king  and  the  death  of  her  lover.  At  this 
crisis  the  Moors  attack  Seville,  and  the  courage  of  a 
young  warrior  (none  other  than  Rodrigue)  at  the 
head  of  a  few  friends  saves  the  city  and  bears  away 
a  glorious  victory.  The  king,  in  seeking  to  over- 
come Chimene's  ardor  for  the  punishment  of  Rod- 
rigue, tells  her  that 

"  The  Moors  in  fleeing  have  borne  away  his  crime." 

But  Chimene  is  unconquerable,  and  the  king  con- 
sents to  a  combat  between  Rodrigue  and  Don 
Sanche,  who  is  also  a  suitor  for  the  hand  of  .Chi- 
mene, on  condition  that  she  marries  the  survivor. 
Neither  combatant  is  killed,  and  while  Rodrigue  is 
the  victor,  and  the  lovers  are  finally  reunited,  there 
is  no  suggestion  of  comedy  in  this  happy  denoue- 
ment; all  has  been  so  serious,  so  exalted  and  noble, 


go  STUDIES  IN"  CRITICISM. 

that  the  effect  is  one  of  those  rare  impressions  pro- 
duced by  the  union  of  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime, 
when  we  cannot  tell  which  quality  predominates. 

But  Corneille  soars  far  above  the  portrayal  of 
passion.  He  sought  in  man  not  that  which  yields, 
but  that  which  resists,  not  the  weakness  of  the 
human  heart,  but  its  strength.*  This  noble  ideal  is 
embodied  in  the  wonderful  tragedy  of  "  Polyeucte," 
than  which  no  more  beautiful  picture  of  heroism 
exists.  Pauline  is  true  to  her  husband,  though  the 
lover  she  had  abandoned  at  her  father's  command 
and  since  believed  to  be  dead  comes  back  and 
storms  her  heart.  Polyeucte's  faith  triumphs  over 
every  natural  feeling  and  in  dying  he  sends  for 
Severe  and  confides  to  him  the  woman  they  both 
love.  Finally,  Se'vere,  himself,  interposes  for  the  life 
of  his  rival  with  an  importunity  that  is  sublime. 

In  "  Polyeucte,"  "  Mort  de  Pompee,"  "  Cinna," 
"  Horace,"  etc.,  Corneille  revived  the  old  Roman 
spirit  as  to  life  and  its  duties.  In  "  Phe'dre,"  "  An- 
dromaque,"  "  Iphige'nie,"  etc.,  Racine  revived  the 
old  Greek  spirit  as  to  Art  and  its  influences.  It  is 
deeply  interesting  to  contrast  the  two  great  poets. 
"  Corneille,"  some  one  has  said,  "  formed  himself  ; 
but  iLouis  XIV.,  Colbert,  Sophocles  and  Euripides 

*  The  heroism  which  Corneille  painted  in  words,  the  great 
grandchild  of  his  own  daughter,  Charlotte  Corday,  painted  in 
action.  This  is  even  a  more  striking  and  a  more  interesting 
case  of  heredity  than  that  of  D'Aubigne  and  Mme.  de  Main- 
tenon. 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.        g  r 

all  contributed  to  form  Racine."  Hence  Racine  is 
not,  like  Corneille,  the  exponent  of  a  single  phase 
of  character,  but  ever  conscious  of  the  actual  life 
around  him,  so  that,  as  Wilhelm  Meister  says,  in 
reading  his  Plays  "we  can  always  figure  to  our- 
selves the  poet  as  living  at  a  splendid  court,  with  a 
great  king  before  his  eyes,  in  constant  intercourse 
with  the  most  distinguished  persons,  and  penetrating 
into  the  secrets  of  human  nature  as  it  works  behind 
the  gorgeous  tapestry  of  palaces."  The  French  let 
foreigners  praise  their  other  great  writers  and  they, 
themselves,  admire  and  love  them,  but  they  praise 
Racine  alone.  Nothing  but  his  faultless  phraseology 
and  Attic  perspicuity  can  really  satisfy  them. 

Boldly  seizing  upon  the  great  themes  of  Greek 
Tragedy,  Racine  gave  them  a  power  and  a  pathos  all 
unknown  to  the  ancients.  Yet  he  is  sculpturesque — 
true  to  the  ideal  of  perfect  simplicity  in  idea  and  in 
expression.  His  Hippolyte  is  not  as  perfect  a  Sir 
Galahad  as  the  Hippolyte  of  Euripides ;  but  his 
Phedre  is  a  thousand  times  nobler  and  more  lov- 
able. What  can  equal  her  impassioned  language 
when  she  bursts  forth  with  : 

"  Yes,  prince,  I  languish,  I  long  for  Theseus. 

I  love  him :  not  such  as  they  in  hades  have  known  him, 

Fickle  adorer  of  a  thousand  different  objects, 

Who  goes  to  disturb  the  rest  of  the  god  of  the  dead  ; 

But  faithful,  but  proud,  and  even  a  little  shy, 

Charming,  young,  drawing  all  hearts  after  him, 

Such  as  our  gods  are  painted,  or  such  as  I  see  you, 

He  had  your  bearing,  your  eyes,  your  language, 


go  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

that  the  effect  is  one  of  those  rare  impressions  pro- 
duced by  the  union  of  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime, 
when  we  cannot  tell  which  quality  predominates. 

But  Corneille  soars  far  above  the  portrayal  of 
passion.  He  sought  in  man  not  that  which  yields, 
but  that  which  resists,  not  the  weakness  of  the 
human  heart,  but  its  strength.*  This  noble  ideal  is 
embodied  in  the  wonderful  tragedy  of  "  Polyeucte," 
than  which  no  more  beautiful  picture  of  heroism 
exists.  Pauline  is  true  to  her  husband,  though  the 
lover  she  had  abandoned  at  her  father's  command 
and  since  believed  to  be  dead  comes  back  and 
storms  her  heart.  Polyeucte's  faith  triumphs  over 
every  natural  feeling  and  in  dying  he  sends  for 
Severe  and  confides  to  him  the  woman  they  both 
love.  Finally,  Se'vere,  himself,  interposes  for  the  life 
of  his  rival  with  an  importunity  that  is  sublime. 

In  "  Polyeucte,"  "  Mort  de  Pompee,"  "  Cinna," 
"  Horace,"  etc.,  Corneille  revived  the  old  Roman 
spirit  as  to  life  and  its  duties.  In  "  Phe'dre,"  "  An- 
dromaque,"  "  Iphigenie,"  etc.,  Racine  revived  the 
old  Greek  spirit  as  to  Art  and  its  influences.  It  is 
deeply  interesting  to  contrast  the  two  great  poets. 
"  Corneille,"  some  one  has  said,  "  formed  himself  ; 
but  JLouis  XIV.,  Colbert,  Sophocles  and  Euripides 

*  The  heroism  which  Corneille  painted  in  words,  the  great 
grandchild  of  his  own  daughter,  Charlotte  Corday,  painted  in 
action.  This  is  even  a  more  striking  and  a  more  interesting 
case  of  heredity  than  that  of  D'Aubigne  and  Mine,  de  Main- 
tenon. 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.        g  r 

all  contributed  to  form  Racine."  Hence  Racine  is 
not,  like  Corneiile,  the  exponent  of  a  single  phase 
of  character,  but  ever  conscious  of  the  actual  life 
around  him,  so  that,  as  Wilhelm  Meister  says,  in 
reading  his  Plays  "we  can  always  figure  to  our- 
selves the  poet  as  living  at  a  splendid  court,  with  a 
great  king  before  his  eyes,  in  constant  intercourse 
with  the  most  distinguished  persons,  and  penetrating 
into  the  secrets  of  human  nature  as  it  works  behind 
the  gorgeous  tapestry  of  palaces."  The  French  let 
foreigners  praise  their  other  great  writers  and  they, 
themselves,  admire  and  love  them,  but  they  praise 
Racine  alone.  Nothing  but  his  faultless  phraseology 
and  Attic  perspicuity  can  really  satisfy  them. 

Boldly  seizing  upon  the  great  themes  of  Greek 
Tragedy,  Racine  gave  them  a  power  and  a  pathos  all 
unknown  to  the  ancients.  Yet  he  is  sculpturesque — 
true  to  the  ideal  of  perfect  simplicity  in  idea  and  in 
expression.  His  Hippolyte  is  not  as  perfect  a  Sir 
Galahad  as  the  Hippolyte  of  Euripides;  but  his 
Phedre  is  a  thousand  times  nobler  and  more  lov- 
able. What  can  equal  her  impassioned  language 
when  she  bursts  forth  with  : 

"  Yes,  prince,  I  languish,  I  long  for  Theseus. 

I  love  him :  not  such  as  they  in  hades  have  known  him, 

Fickle  adorer  of  a  thousand  different  objects, 

Who  goes  to  disturb  the  rest  of  the  god  of  the  dead  ; 

But  faithful,  but  proud,  and  even  a  little  shy, 

Charming,  young,  drawing  all  hearts  after  him, 

Such  as  our  gods  are  painted,  or  such  as  I  see  you, 

He  had  your  bearing,  your  eyes,  your  language, 


82  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

That  noble  modesty  adorned  his  countenance 

When  he  traversed  the  waves  of  our  Crete, 

Worthy  subject  of  the  vows  of  the  daughters  of  Minos." 

And  again,  when  suddenly  attacked  by  the  keen- 
est jealousy,  she  exclaims  : 

"  Ah,  grief  not  yet  experienced  ! 

For  what  new  torments  am  I  reserved  ! 

All  that  I  have  suffered,  my  fears,  my  transports, 

The  ardor  of  my  desires,  the  horror  of  my  remorse, 

Even  the  insupportable  injury  of  a  cruel  contempt 

Was  only  a  feeble  attempt  at  the  torment  that  I  endure." 

Equally  pathetic,  but  far  purer  and  loftier  are  the 
sufferings  of  Berenice  and  Andromaque,  but  it  was 
not  until  Racine  devoted  his  perfect  Art  to  the  illus- 
tration of  sacred  themes  that  he  attained  the  zenith 
of  his  fame  and  the  climax  of  that  Art.  "  Athalie,"  is 
the  masterpiece  of  the  French  stage,  perfect  in  its 
grand  and  awful  theme,  faultless  in  its  wonderful 
diction  and  unrivalled  in  its  masterly  simplicity. 
"  Esther,"  written,  like  "  Athalie,"  at  the  request  of 
Mme.  de  Maintenon  for  the  young  ladies  of  St.  Cyr, 
was  a  much  greater  success  on  its  appearance,  and 
though  since  relegated  to  its  proper  rank,  it  remains 
second  only  to  "  Athalie." 

The  name  of  Racine  suggests  that  of  Boileau,  as 
their  friendship,  never  marred  by  a  single  interrup- 
tion through  a  long  life,  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful things  on  record.  Boileau  was  introduced  to  the 
king  at  thirty-three  years  of  age.  He  established 
himself  in  Paris  and  in  the  Vieux  Colombier  grouped 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.       33 

around  him  Moliere,  Racine,  Chapelle  and  La  Fon- 
taine. Before  him,  criticism  as  a  distinct  province 
in  Literature  did  not  exist.  He  took  the  stand  of 
literary  censor  and  was  not  afraid  to  tell  Louis  XIV. 
that  though  he  could  judge  better  of  battles,  he  was 
not  his  equal  as  a  critic. 

The  "  Heroes  of  Romance,"  a  satire  upon  the 
Scude'ry  school,  is  the  best  of  Boileau's  works, 
though  "  L'Art  Poe'tique,"  "Le  Lutrin,"  the  Epistles 
and  Satires  are  yet  read  for  their  perfect  versifica- 
tion, sound  canons  of  criticism  and  purity  of  style. 
Irreproachable  in  heart,  life  and  literature,  Boileau's 
will  always  remain  an  attractive  character,  and 
judged  by  his  own  favorite  maxim  :  "  Nothing  is 
beautiful  but  the  True,"  men  will  always  find  much 
to  admire  in  his  writings. 

In  the  midst  of  the  great  creations  which  mark 
this  as  the  golden  age  of  French  Literature,  the 
Fables  of  La  Fontaine  hold  a  conspicuous  place. 
The  French  say,  "  La  Fontaine  is  the  flower  of  the 
Gallic  mind  and  its  perfume  is  that  of  antiquity." 
It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  those  na'ive,  profound, 
often  humorous  and  often  touching  apologues  which 
everyone  has  read  and  long  known  by  heart. 

We  turn  from  the  secular  writers  of  the  Court  (al- 
though La  Fontaine  was  not  wholly  of  the  Court)  to 
the  great  ecclesiastics  connected  with  it.  The  pul- 
pit eloquence  of  this  age  is  unparalleled.  Of  the  sub- 
lime funeral  orations  of  Bossuet,  a  celebrated  critic 
has  said  "  praise  would  be  profanation,"  The  pure 


84  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

and  gentle  Fenelon,  proving  in  his  own  inimitable 
way  that  mildness  and  persuasion  are  the  most 
powerful  arms  of  spiritual  warfare ;  the  Jesuit  Bour- 
daloue,  a  master  of  dialectics  ;  Massilon,  the  Racine 
of  the  French  pulpit ;  the  great  Protestants,  Jurieu, 
Claude,  and  Saurien ;  Mascaron,  to  whom  Louis 
said  :  "  Nothing  but  your  eloquence  can  defy  the  rav- 
ages of  time  ;  "  and  Flechier,  who  vanquished  Mas- 
caron in  the  funeral  oration  of  Turenne,  clothed  the 
gift  of  speech  with  unprecedented  power. 

But  of  all  the  great  orators,  Bossuet  was,  undoubt- 
edly the  greatest.  Abbe  Maury  says  :  "  Read  his 
discourses  ;  and  if  you  are  not  impressed  by  the  sub- 
limity of  his  thoughts  and  the  vehemence  of  his 
emotions,  take  care  never  to  exercise  any  judgment 
in  regard  to  orators  ;  nature  has  refused  you  the 
appreciation  of  eloquence." 

The  sermons  entitled  "  The  Unity  of  the  Church ; " 
"  The  Worship  due  to  God  ; "  "  Brotherly  Love  " 
and  "Human  Judgments  "  are  among  the  finest,  and 
the  following  passages  fairly  represent  Bossuet's  style: 

"Whence  think  you.  that  Jesus  Christ  will  sum- 
mon the  flames  to  devour  ungrateful  Christians  ? 
From  his  altars,  from  his  sacraments,  from  his 
wounds,  from  that  side  opened  on  the  Cross  to  be  a 
source  of  infinite  love  to  us.  Thence  will  come  the 
indignation  of  his  just  wrath,  so  much  the  more  im- 
placable as  it  will  have  been  steeped  in  the  very 
source  of  his  mercy." 

"  The  discourse  of  St,  Paul,  very  far  from  flowing 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE.       85 

with  that  tempered  equality  which  we  admire  in  ora- 
tors, appears  unequal  and  without  connection  to  those 
who  have  not  sufficiently  penetrated  it ;  and  the  del- 
icate of  the  earth,  who  have,  they  say,  sensitive  ears, 
are  offended  by  the  harshness  of  his  irregular  style. 
But,  my  brethren,  let  us  not  blush  for  it ;  the  language 
of  the  apostle  is  simple,  but  his  thoughts  are  all  divine. 
If  he  ignores  rhetoric,  if  he  despises  Philosophy,  Jesus 
Christ  holds  with  him  the  place  of  everything ;  and 
his  name,  which  he  has  always  on  his  lips,  his  mys- 
teries, which  he  treats  of  divinely,  render  his  sim- 
plicity all-powerful.  He  will  go,  this  ignoramus  in 
the  art  of  smooth  speaking,  with  that  rude  locution, 
with  that  phraseology  which  betokens  the  foreigner, 
he  will  go  into  that  polished  Greece,  mother  of  phi- 
losophers and  orators ;  in  spite  of  the  resistance  of 
the  world  he  will  establish  there  more  churches  than 
Plato  gained  disciples  ;  he  will  preach  Jesus  Christ 
in  Athens  and  the  wisest  of  its  senators  will  pass 
from  the  areopagus  into  the  school  of  this  barbarian. 
He  will  extend  still  farther  his  conquests;  in  the 
person  of  a  proconsul  he  will  bring  down  to  the  feet 
of  the  Saviour  the  majesty  of  the  Rom  an  fasces,  he 
will  make  the  judges  before  whom  he  is  cited 
tremble  in  their  tribunals  :  Rome,  itself,  will  hear  his 
voice,  and  one  day  that  city,  mistress  of  the  world, 
will  hold  herself  far  more  honored  by  a  letter  in  the 
style  of  Paul  addressed  to  her  citizens  than  by  the 
many  famous  harangues  she  heard  from  her  own 
Cicero." 


86  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

The  great  Fenelon  will  always  be  remembered  as 
the  preceptor  of  the  young  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and 
in  this  capacity  as  the  author  of  that  unique  work, 
"  The  Adventures  of  Telemachus,"  which  is  "  neither 
a  poem,  nor  a  history,  nor  a  romance,  nor  a  moral 
treatise,  and  yet  is  all  of  these  combined ;  "  and  as 
the  invincible  friend  and  staunch  defender  of  Mme. 
de  Guyon. 

The  perfect  fearlessness  which  marks  the  French 
character  renders  anything  like  a  compromise  in 
morals  and  religion  an  impossibility.  "  The  French," 
says  Heine,  "  attack  every  problem  in  its  essential 
point  and  do  not  rest  until  they  solve  it  or  set  it 
aside  as  insolvable."  This  has  led,  of  course,  to  the 
most  brilliant  and  the  most  deplorable  results.  It 
has  made  the  French  the  teachers  of  the  world,  be- 
cause other  nations  can  profit  by  their  suggestions, 
while  they  feel  no  temptation  to  go  to  the  same  ex- 
tremes. Thus  the  world  has  been  an  almost  infinite 
gainer  by  the  life  and  teaching  of  Mine.  Guyon, 
while  it  shrinks  from  both  the  example  and  the  in- 
culcation. The  words  of  that  devout  genius  are  on 
our  lips  in  Hymns  of  Praise,  and  the  fact  that  such  a 
life  has  been  lived  is  a  perpetual  reproach  to  those 
who  content  themselves  with  a  lower  standard 
whether  in  the  one  case  we  know  it  or  not,  and  in 
the  other  we  acknowledge  it  or  not.  But,  for  all 
this,  the  French  themselves  are  the  losers.  That 
impetuosity  of  character  which  condemned  Fe'ne'lon 
to  exile  and  Mme.  Guyon  to  imprisonment  swept 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.      8/ 

into  oblivion  the  glorious  gifts,  which  I,  for  one,  can- 
not but  believe  were  conferred  "  to  be  traded  upon 
with  interest." 

This  vehemence  of  nature  displayed  itself  in  the 
same  way,  though  to  far  greater  advantage,  in  the 
illustrious  advocates  of  Jansenism.  Of  the  many 
great  names  identified  with  that  famous  religious 
reformation  which  has  left  its  impress  upon  every 
province  of  thought,  those  of  Jacqueline  and  Blaise 
Pascal  remain  the  most  notable. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  a  more  brilliant 
career  than  that  which  opened  before  the  beauti- 
ful, gifted  Jacqueline  Pascal.  At  the  age  of  eleven 
years,  wiih  some  young  friends  she  had  composed 
and  acted  a  Play  in  five  acts  which  was  the  theme  of 
conversation  in  Paris  for  many  months.  At  four- 
teen she  carried  away  a  poetical  prize  contended  for 
by  some  of  the  greatest  poets  of  France.  Coming 
under  the  influence  of  the  Port  Royalists,  her  sensi- 
tive, enthusiastic,  impetuous  nature  boldly  aban- 
doned itself  to  their  guidance,  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  renouncing  genius,  fame,  and  every 
earthly  enjoyment,  she  entered  upon  a  life  of  sub- 
lime austerity  and  complete  self-sacrifice,  dead  to 
the  world,  and  satisfied  with  nothing  but  perfection. 
But  her  genius  could  not  be  suppressed.  In  her 
Meditations,  Letters  and  Religious  Poems,  above  all, 
in  her  last  eloquent  remonstrance  against  the  sign- 
ing of  the  fatal  formula  that  was  to  save  Port  Royal, 
by  repudiating  the  doctrine  bound  up  with  its  exist- 


88  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ence,  that  genius  glows  and  burns  with  an  intensity 
that  is  unearthly.  Led  by  the  authority  of  Arnauld, 
the  Jansenists  broke  their  vows;  but  Jacqueline 
Pascal  died  of  grief  and  remorse,  in  the  terrible  fear 
that  in  order  to  save  Port  Royal  she  had  lost  her 
own  soul. 

The  story  of  her  life  does  not  end  here  ;  its  influ- 
ence over  the  marvellous  mind  of  her  brother  is  its 
chief  glory.  The  world  has  never  known  a  more 
penetrating  intellect  than  Pascal's.  All  who  have 
studied  it  feel  that  in  Physical  Science,  in  Mathe- 
matics and  in  Metaphysics  there  is  no  height  which 
he  might  not  have  attained.  Like  his  sister,  he 
renounced  everything  for  religion.  The  Jansenists 
found  in  Pascal  a  powerful  ally,  and  his  "  Provincial 
Letters,"  which  expose  the  casuistry  of  the  Jesuits, 
will  ever  remain  the  great  trophy  of  their  school  of 
thought. 

But  it  is  in  his  "  Pensees,"  the  mere  fragment  of 
a  work  cut  short  by  death,  that  his  fiery  eloquence, 
his  remorseless  logic  and  the  keenness  of  his  pene- 
trating intellect  find  full  scope.  His  design  was  to 
prove  that  all  that  is  weak  in  man  belongs  to  man, 
all  that  is  good  to  God  ;  in  other  words,  the  Jansen- 
ist  doctrine  of  the  perfect  helplessness  of  man  and 
the  perfect  efficacy  of  Divine  Grace.  The  latter 
portion  of  this  task  was  unfulfilled  ;  hence  the  awful 
iron\r,  the  mournful  disgust,  the  horrible  ennui,  the 
self-hatred,  the  iron  despotism  of  the  "  Pensees." 
Those  who  know  rothincr  ,>f  the  design  of  the  work 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERA  TUKE. 


89 


and  the  ultimate  drift  of  these  first  principles  imag- 
ine that  this  is  the  scepticism  which  springs  from 
doubt,  whereas  it  is  an  exquisite  mockery  of  such 
scepticism.  This  intensity  of  thought  concentrated 
upon  man's  eternal  destiny  is  the  most  painful  thing 
in  the  world.  To  deliberately  resolve  to  concen- 
trate one's  thoughts  upon  the  darkest  view  of  man 
that  can  be  taken  betokens  a  strength  of  mind 
which  few  can  understand,  much  less  acquire. 
Pascal  has  done  it  once  for  all.  There  remains 
nothing  to  be  done  in  this  direction.  I  give  a  spec- 
imen of  his  style  in  the  following  quotation  : 

"  The  nature  of  self-love  and  of  this  human  me  is  to 
love  and  consider  itself  only.  But  what  will  it  do  ? 
It  cannot  prevent  this  beloved  object  from  being  full 
of  faults  and  miseries;  it  wishes  to  be  great  and 
sees  that  it  is  little  ;  it  wishes  to  be  happy  and  sees 
itself  miserable  ;  it  wishes  to  be  perfect  and  sees 
that  it  is  full  of  imperfections ;  it  wishes  to  be  the 
object  of  men's  love  and  esteem  and  sees  that  its 
faults  deserve  only  their  aversion  and  contempt. 
This  embarrassment  in  which  man  finds  himself 
produces  in  him  the  most  unjust  and  the  most  crim- 
inal passion  that  it  is  possible  to  imagine  :  for  he 
conceives  a  mortal  hatred  for  that  truth  which  con- 
demns him  and  convinces  him  of  his  faults.  He 
would  like  to  annihilate  it,  and  not  being  able  to 
destroy  it  in  itself,  he  destroys  it  as  much  as  he  can 
in  his  judgment  and  in  that  of  others ;  that  is  to 
say,  he  takes  every  care  to  cover  up  his  faults  both 


g0  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

from  others  and  from  himself,  and  cannot  endure 
others  to  make  him  see  them,  or  themselves  to  see 
them.  *  *  *  *  There  are  different  degrees  in  this 
aversion  for  the  truth  ;  but  all  have  it  in  some  de- 
gree, for  it  is  inseparable  from  self-love.  It  is  this 
false  delicacy  which  obliges  those  who  are  com- 
pelled to  reprove  others  to  choose  so  many  evasions 
and  modifications  to  avoid  shocking  them.  They 
find  it  necessary  to  diminish  our  faults,  to  make  a 
show  of  excusing  them,  to  mix  in  praises  and  testi- 
monies of  affection  and  esteem.  With  all  this,  this 
medicine  does  not  cease  to  be  bitter  to  self-love.  It 
takes  as  little  as  possible,  and  always  with  disgust, 
and  often  with  a  secret  spite  against  those  who  offer 
it.  The  result  is,  if  any  one  desires  to  be  beloved,  he 
takes  care  not  to  perform  an  office  known  to  be  dis- 
agreeable to  us  :  we  are  treated  as  we  wish  to  be  ; 
we  hate  the  truth,  it  is  concealed  from  us  ;  we  wish 
to  be  flattered,  people  flatter  us  ;  we  like  to  be  de- 
ceived, they  deceive  us.  So  it  is  that  each  degree 
of  good  fortune  which  elevates  us  in  the  world 
removes  us  more  from  the  truth,  because  one  fears 
more  to  wound  those  whose  affection  is  more  useful 
and  whose  aversion  is  more  dangerous.  A  prince 
might  be  the  fable  of  all  Europe,  and  he  alone  know 
nothing  of  it.*  *  *  *  Thus  human  life  is  but  a 
perpetual  illusion ;  we  do  nothing  but  deceive  and 
flatter  each  other.  No  one  speaks  of  us  in  our 
presence  as  he  speaks  in  our  absence.  The  union 
between  men  is  only  founded  on  this  mutual  decep- 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE.     g  l 

tion ;  and  few  friendships  would  subsist  if  each 
knew  what  his  friend  says  of  him  when  he  is  absent, 
although  he  speaks  then  sincerely  and  without  pas- 
sion." 

Now  without  bearing  in  mind  the  principle  upon 
which  all  this  is  to  turn,  it  would  be  simply  intoler- 
able. I  have  often  encountered  the  most  absurd 
misconceptions  of  the  "  Pensees,"  doing  away  with 
all  their  grandeur  ;  take  away  this  sublime  irony, 
this  "scorn  of  scorn  and  hate  of  hate,"  and  you  de- 
stroy their  very  essence.  Every  member  of  the 
Pascal  family  seems  to  have  shared  this  burning 
zeal.  That  was  pride  indeed,  pure  and  inexorable, 
which  Mile.  Perier,  Pascal's  niece,  felt  in  being  able 
to  say  :  "  All  my  relatives  have  died  in  the  service 
of  God  and  in  the  love  of  truth." 

In  passing  from  the  Seventeenth  to  the  Eighteenth 
Century,  from  Boileau  to  Voltaire,  we  encounter 
Jean  Baptiste  Rousseau,  the  first  great  lyric  poet  of 
France.  In  his  exquisite  Odes  "  To  Fortune,"  "  To 
Chaulieu,"  "To  De  la  Fare,"  "On  the  Death  of 
Conti,"  and  "To  Posterity,"  we  find  charms  hitherto 
unrevealed  in  any  language, — a  delicacy,  transpar- 
ency and  suavity  which  are  altogether  fascinating. 

I  shall  pass  over  the  great  transition  writers,  La 
Motte,  Fontenelle,  Lesage  and  Montesquieu,  in 
order  to  devote  more  time  to  the  still  greater  inau- 
gurators  of  Modern  Literature. 

The  names  of  Voltaire  and  Jean  Jacques  Rous- 
seau— once  war  cries  of  such  mighty  import — have 


92 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


long  ceased  to  excite  a  throb  of  that  interest  which 
agitated  and  convulsed  Europe ;  as  moralists,  pub- 
licists, socialists  and  teachers  of  Natural  Religion 
they  are  almost  as  effete  as  if  they  had  not  existed, 
but  in  Literature  they  will  always  be  immortal. 

One  prejudiced  on  every  side  against  Voltaire 
and  indoctrinated  with  a  miserable  feeling  of  obliga- 
tion to  condemn  his  writings  will  be  most  agree- 
ably disappointed  in  judging  and  knowing  them  for 
himself.  "  Merope  "  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
Tragedies  ever  written.  It  turns  upon  the  conflict 
of  Merope,  widow  of  Cresphonte,  King  of  Messina, 
in  deciding  whether  she  shall  stoop  to  marry  Poly- 
phonte,  tyrant  of  Messina,  in  order  to  secure  the 
throne  for  her  son,  Egisthe,  who  has  been  an  exile 
for  fifteen  years,  or  be  true  to  herself  and  noble 
lineage  and  trust  that  the  time  may  come  in  which 
Egisthe  shall  reign  in  his  own  right.  Her  hatred 
of  marrying  a  man  whom  she  despises  is  like  that 
of  the  Danaidae  in  the  "  Suppliants  "  of  Eschylus. 
Indeed  this  tragedy  is  more  truly  Greek  than  any 
that  Racine  ever  wrote.  Every  emotion  is  intel- 
lectualized.  The  most  exciting  portion  of  the  Play 
is  recited,  not  acted  out  before  the  audience.  It  is 
on  the  heroic  order.  Merope  is  a  noble,  magnifi- 
cent woman,  tenderness  for  husband  and  son  pre- 
dominating over  everything  and  stifling  the  ambition 
which  would  naturally  belong  to  a  nature  so  splen- 
didly endowed  as  hers.  Occasional  sentences  have 
the  force  of  aphorisms. 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE.      93 

"  In  order  to  avenge  one's  self,  it  is  necessary  to 
know  how  to  suffer." 

"  He  knew  misfortune  in  opening  his  eyelids,  and 
the  gods  have  conducted  him  to  immortality." 

"The  vilest  and  least  enlightened  testimony 
sometimes  reveals  great  truths  " — a  principle  very 
frequently  acted  upon  by  subsequent  writers. 

And  in  the  noble  lines  of  Egisthe  which  close 
this  exalted  tragedy — 

"  It  is  not  mine, 
This  glory  belongs  to  the  gods, 
Virtue,  as  well  as  happiness,  comes  from  them." — 

a  worthy  seal  is  set  to  its  beauty. 

In  his  '*  Century  of  Louis  XIV." — rather  an 
Historical  Essay  than  a  History — Voltaire  gives  us 
one  of  the  most  brilliant,  sparkling,  animated  and 
refreshing  compositions  ever  penned.  We  may  not 
agree  with  him  in  many  of  his  estimates,  for  he 
"blushes  for  his  predilections  for  Jansenism," 
slights  Mme.  de  Longueville  and  unequivocally 
condemns  Mme.  de  Guyon,  but  Voltaire  is  not 
dogmatic — we  feel  at  liberty  to  disagree  with  him. 

In  Rousseau,  still  more  than  in  Voltaire,  we  begin 
to  discern  that  striking  inequality  in  the  different 
powers  of  the  mind,  that  glaring  disproportion  be- 
tween intellect  and  character  which  is  detected 
and  condemned  only  by  the  reader  of  to-day. 
Rousseau  is  Emerson's  representative  man,  of  whom 
everything  may  be  at  the  same  time  affirmed  and 
denied.  By  his  eloquence  alone  he  lives.  In  the 


94 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


midst  of  much  nonsense  ;  sheer  vanity  ;  possibly, 
sincere  gropings  after  Truth ;  we  suddenly  come 
upon  some  statement  which  has  the  force  of  a  Reve- 
lation. The  morbid  sentimentality  of  Rousseau 
was  only  an  exaggerated  expression  of  the  melan- 
choly which  afflicted  thoughtful  and  poetical  minds 
throughout  Europe,  engendered  by  the  social  and 
political  upheavals  preceding  and  pending  the  Rev- 
olution— the  thunder  and  lightning  of  the  storm 
which  was  to  issue  in  the  purification  and  clarifi- 
cation of  the  atmosphere.  The  "  Paul  and  Vir- 
ginia "  of  Bernardine  de  St.  Pierre,  set  to  the  same 
sentimental  strain  and  aiming  to  reveal  the  superi- 
ority of  the  natural  over  the  artificial  emotions,  has 
long  eclipsed  the  glory  of  "  The  New  Heloise." 

It  is  refreshing  to  turn  from  the  feverish  senti- 
ment of  such  writers  to  the  elevated  discussions  of 
a  Thomas  or  a  Vauvenargues.  The  latter  is  a  com- 
panion from  whom  one  refuses  to  be  separated. 
He  restores  that  tranquillity  of  mind  which  we  lost 
in  leaving  the  Great  Century.  The  "  Introduction 
to  a  Knowledge  of  the  Human  Mind  "  is  instructive 
as  well  as  original  and  striking.  Speaking  of  judg- 
ment and  penetration,  Vauvenargues  says  :  "  Noth- 
ing is  so  useful  to  both  as  breadth  of  mind.  It 
spreads  light  over  great  objects  and  over  a  vast 
surface.  It  is  impossible  to  have  great  genius  with- 
out intellectual  breadth.  No  one  can  be  ignorant 
that  this  quality  depends  greatly  on  the  soul,  which 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE. 


95 


generally  gives  the  mind  its  own  limits,  and  re- 
stricts or  extends  it  according  to  its  own  flight." 

He  says  that  the  French  have  put  delicacy,  which 
comes  essentially  from  the  soul,  at  a  higher  value 
than  any  other  people  in  the  world.  Again  :  "  There 
is  an  eloquence  which  is  in  the  words,  and  which 
consists  in  easily  and  suitably  expressing  one's 
thoughts,  of  whatever  nature  they  may  be ;  this  is 
the  eloquence  of  the  world.  There  is  another, 
residing  in  the  ideas  and  feelings  themselves,  joined 
to  that  of  expression  ;  this  is  the  true  eloquence." 
A  literary  man  may  be  pardoned  and  even  loved  for 
asserting  that  "  No  one  can  have  a  great  soul  or  a 
penetrating  mind  without  some  passion  for  letters." 

Vauvenargues'  criticism  of  Corneille  is  very 
severe.  He  accuses  him  of  ostentation  and  mere 
declamation,  of  being,  perhaps,  a  painter  of  great 
characters,  but  a  weak  delineator  and  a  false  color- 
ist.  For  Racine  he  is  all  enthusiasm,  not  hesitating 
to  affirm  that  he  is  the  greatest  genius  France  ever 
had  and  the  most  eloquent  of  her  poets.  As  the 
personal  friend  of  Voltaire  we  are  impressed  by  the 
brilliant  portrait  he  gives  us.  "  There  is  no  essen- 
tial merit  that  one  cannot  find  in  his  writings,"  he 
tells  us  :  "  he  is  not  only  a  writer  of  the  first  order, 
but  a  sublime  genius  which  divines  the  connection 
of  human  affairs  from  afar ;  the  possessor  of  a 
mind  superior  to  prejudices,  and  which  joined  to  the 
philosophical  knowledge  of  his  own  century  the 


96 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


knowledge  of  past  centuries  and  the  whole  economy 
of  the  human  race." 

We  shall  not  dwell  upon  the  Literature  of  the 
Revolution,  so  enthusiastically  criticised  by  Vinet 
and  Geruzez ;  it  is  a  world  in  itself  and  a  subject 
upon  which,  as  M.  Guizot  says  "one  cannot 
touch  without  emotion."  Of  this  period  Mme.  de 
Stael  is  the  one  great  writer  whose  works  will  be 
coeval  with  the  human  race.  It  was  she  who  made 
the  world  know  and  love  Germany  and  her  glorious 
writers.  The  magnificent  tribute  which  the  illus- 
trious exile  paid  to  the  country  among  whose  savants, 
philosophers  and  poets  she  found  refuge,  created  an 
era  in  Art,  Literature  and  Philosophy.  In  studying 
this  great  work  we  do  not  wonder  that  Mme  de  Stael 
was  the  one  person  whom  Napoleon  feared.  The 
energy  of  her  thoughts,  the  strength  of  her  opinions, 
the  enthusiasm  of  her  feelings  reveal  a  nature  which, 
if  powerful  as  an  ally,  is  no  less  formidable  as  a 
foe. 

Mrne.  de  Stael  is  not  only  the  one  writer  of  this 
period  who  is  not  carried  away  by  some  emotion  or 
some  idea  which  usurps  entire  dominion  over  the 
mind,  she  is  the  only  writer  in  any  language  who 
boldly  brings  her  emotions  into  every  discussion  of 
politics,  morality  and  Metaphysics.  Her  mind  is 
free :  and  whether  it  be  Germany,  France,  Italy,  or 
England  that  she  scans,  we  feel  assured  that  her  con- 
clusions are  the  result  of  an  observation  that  is  rigor- 
ously exact  in  its  conscientiousness  and  scrupulously 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE. 


97 


impartial  in  its  judgments.  A  nature  so  richly  en- 
dowed could  not  but,  itself,  inform  the  works  brought 
forward  for  criticism  :  hence  the  grandeur  of  the 
Drama  in  her  hands.  But  it  is  in  treating  of  Meta- 
physics that  her  comprehensive  grasp  of  Truth  is  best 
revealed  and  studied.  We  are  not  surprised  to  find 
her  an  ardent  advocate  of  a  priori  Philosophy,  and 
surely  nothing  can  exceed  the  energy  and  beauty 
of  her  thoughts  on  this  subject.  In  discussing  the 
Kantian  school  she  says  : 

"The  grandest  epochs  of  the  human  race,  in  all 
time,  have  been  those  in  which  truths  of  a  certain 
order  were  never  contested,  either  by  writings  or  by 
discourse.  The  passions  might  lead  to  guilty  acts, 
but  no  one  called  in  question  the  religion  which  he  did 
not  obey.  Sophisms  of  every  kind,  the  abuse  of  a 
certain  Philosophy,  have  destroyed  in  different  coun- 
tries and  in  different  centuries  this  noble  firmness  of 
belief,  the  source  of  heroic  devotion.  Is  it  not,  then, 
a  beautiful  idea  for  philosophy  to  forbid  the  very 
science  it  professes,  the  entrance  of  the  sanctuary, 
and  to  employ  every  kind  of  abstraction  to  prove  that 
there  are  regions  from  which  it  ought  to  be  banished  ? 
Despots  and  fanatics  have  tried  to  forbid  human 
reason  the  examination  of  certain  subjects,  and  the 
reason  has  always  freed  itself  from  these  restraints. 
But  the  limits  which  it  imposes  upon  itself,  far  from 
subjecting  it,  give  it  new  strength — a  result  which 
always  follows  from  the  authority  of  laws  freely  con- 
sented to  by  those  who  submit  themselves  to  them." 
7 


98  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

11  Corinne  "  is  a  work  of  Art  in  which  all  the  Fine 
Arts  have  a  part.  M.  Vinet  says  it  is  explained  by 
St.  Paul  when  he  says  :  "  Though  the  more  I  love,  the 
less  I  be  loved," — a  principle  which  he  considers  the 
most  tragic  thing  in  life,  and  which  I  should  consider 
totally  destructive  of  faith  in  the  emotions.  This 
noble  work  is  deeply  impregnated  with  the  injustices 
which  Mine,  de  Stae'l  suffered  as  a  woman.  This  to 
M.  Vinet  is  not  a  subject  of  regret,  for  to  the  sneer- 
ing statement  that  "  No  woman  has  written  an 
Iliad,"  he  is  ready  with  the  reply,  "  Neither  has  any 
man  written  a  '  Corinne.'  " 

If  Chateaubriand  is  not  to  be  named  by  the  side 
of  Mme.  de  Stae'l  as  a  teacher  of  profound  truth,  an 
eloquent  moralist  or  a  touching  painter  of  the  human 
heart,  his  claims  to  the  admiration  of  posterity  are, 
still,  dazzling.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive 
of  a  more  beautiful  work  than  his  "  Genius  of  Chris- 
tianity." His  style  is  eloquence  itself,  and  seldom  is 
that  style  alone  impressive.  He  was  the  first  to  show 
what  Poetry  and  the  Modern  Arts  owe  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  his  work  will  always  remain  a 
beautiful  tribute  to  the  teachings  of  that  Church 
which  has  exercised  undisputed  sway  over  Southern 
Europe.  If  Chateaubriand  awakens  a  less  purely 
intellectual  admiration  than  Mme.  de  Stae'l,  all  the 
more  does  he  arouse  our  sympathies  for  the  weak- 
nesses, inconsistencies  and  inequalities  of  nature 
which  we  share  with  him.  "  Man,"  says  Vinet,  "  re- 
veals himself  more  by  his  sentiments  than  by  his 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE,      gg 

thoughts,"  and  this  subjective  element  predomi- 
nates in  all  that  Chateaubriand  has  written.  Much 
of  "  Atala  "  may  fade  from  memory,  but  "  Le  Der- 
nier Abencerage  "  will  ever  remain  an  ideal  work  as 
to  the  capacities  and  ends  of  romance. 

Our  own  age  has  seen  poems,  contes,  novels, 
romances,  fictitious  memoirs  and  genuine  memoirs, 
comedies,  livres  (Pagrdment,  histories,  essays  and 
sketches  heaped  upon  it  by  France,  with  a  prodigal- 
ity unequaled  in  any  other  country.  Lovers  of 
fiction  have  been  carried  away  by  the  modern  French 
novel,  and  so  widely  have  they  extended  its  spell, 
that  to  many  this  is  the  one  department  in  all 
French  Literature,  the  representative  exposition  of 
the  French  genius,  which  in  being  condemned  by 
the  very  people  who  read  no  other  kind  of  Literature 
in  its  turn  condemns  all  the  Literature  of  this  great 
people.  To  one  who  cares  little  for  any  kind  of 
fiction,  French  fiction  is  distasteful  as  well  as  ob- 
jectionable. The  French  intellect  is  not  less  exact 
and  remorseless  in  its  dissection  of  the  passions 
than  in  its  analysis  of  abstract  ideas  :  but  in  the 
case  of  the  passions  this  method  is  at  fault ;  it  is 
morbid,  enervating  and  vicious.  But  Balzac,  Sue, 
George  Sand,  Dumas  pere  et  fils  have  conferred  a 
benefit  upon  the  world  in  so  speedily  attaining  the 
limit  of  this  method.  Passionate  reaction  is  inevita- 
ble, and,  in  the  mean  time  we  have  had  some  elo- 
quent warnings  as  to  the  workings  of  the  human 
heart  and  its  violent  abuse  of  the  imagination. 


100  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

The  sentimentalism  of  St.  Pierre  and  Rousseau  has 
been  taken  up  and  perfected  by  Lamariine  both  as 
a  poet  and  a  novelist.  In  "  Jocelyn,"  "  Graziella," 
and  "  Raphael,"  we  have  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  emo- 
tion, and,  as  summer  idyls  for  those  whose  emotions 
need  vivifying,  nothing  more  delightful  can  be  im- 
agined. 

French  Poetry  has  had  marvelous  accessions 
within  the  last  half-century.  Be'ranger,  De  Musset, 
Victor  Hugo  and  many  others  have  given  us  per- 
fect poems.  Beranger,  the  people's  poet,  who  "  had 
neither  wealth,  rank,  nor  glory,  but  much,  much 
love,"  must  be  read  and  re-read  if  one  would 
know  contemporary  France,  that  France  of  which 
he  proudly  writes : 

"  Thou  mayst  fall,  but  it  is  like  the  thunder-bolt, 
Which  rises  again  and  reverberates  iu  the  highest 
heavens." 

Victor  Hugo,  like  Lamartine  and  Chateaubriand, 
is  as  much  a  poet  in  prose  as  in  verse  :  a  wildly 
luxuriant  genius,  an  exhuberant  nature,  a  splendid 
intellect  and  a  mighty  heart — seldom  lias  a  human 
being  been  so  magnificently  endowed.  That  great 
work  "  Les  Miserables "  will  live  when  marble 
crumbles  into  dust.  In  the  opinion  of  those  not 
given  to  enthusiasm  it  comes  right  after  the  Gospel 
Narrative  in  the  loftiness  of  its  teaching,  the  stand- 
ard of  its  heroism  and  the  sublimity  of  its  delin- 
eations. If  we  have  glaring  extravagance,  incon- 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE.  IOI 

sistency,  disproportion  and  exaggeration  in  this 
unique  work,  let  us  console  ourselves  with  the  recol- 
lection that  without  the  faults  we  could  not  have 
had  the  excellencies.  "  Notre  Dame  de  Paris," 
Hugo's  masterpiece,  is  a  study  of  Art  rather  than  of 
man  ;  but  as  such  it  is  unrivalled  in  its  grandeur, 
and  a  glowing  testimony  to  the  mental  power  which 
can  subordinate  the  personal  to  the  impersonal,  the 
concrete  to  the  abstract. 

Saintine,  DeVigny,  Souvestre,  Sandeau,  Feuillet, 
Erckman-Chatrian  and  Cherbuliez  have  given  us 
charming  novels, — stories  in  which  the  real  and  the 
ideal  unite  to  illustrate  the  Truth. 

But  it  is  neither  in  Poetry  or  Fiction  that  the 
French  genius  has  shown  itself  unrivalled  in  our 
day.  In  History,  Philosophy,  Criticism,  Belles- 
Lettres  and  Journalism  it  finds  its  true  sphere  and 
astonishes  the  world.  Its  long  list  of  brilliant 
historians, — D'Aubigne,  Lamartine,  Guizot,  Amidee, 
Thierry,  Auguste  Thierry,  Thiers,  Michelet,  Mignet, 
Duruy,  Louis  Blanc  and  many  lesser  lights — would 
alone  render  our  century  forever  illustrious. 

In  Philosophy  M.  Cousin  has  developed  a  priori 
Truth  to  its  utmost  limits,  leaving,  as  even  Mill 
acknowledges,  nothing  to  be  desired,  and  this  in  a 
style  which  can  be  likened  only  to  Plato's.  And 
Cousin  is  scarcely  less  fascinating  as  a  Critic  than 
as  a  Philosopher.  His  Biographical  and  Literary 
"  Studies  "  furnish  us  not  only  with  the  soundest  in- 
formation, but  guide  us  to  conclusions  based  upon 


102  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

the  noblest  principles  and  charm  us  by  an  inimitably 
brilliant  style  and  an  inexhaustible  enthusiasm.  No 
one  who  loves  generosity  of  character  can  fail  to 
love  the  French  character.  If  "  the  truest  mark  of 
being  born  with  great  qualities  is  to  be  born  with- 
out envy,"  then  Cousin  was  one  of  the  greatest  men 
earth  has  known.  That  indefatigable  research 
which  has  issued  in  the  only  grand  monument  to  its 
fame  of  which  any  country  can  boast — an  unbroken 
series  of  critical  studies — was  founded  upon  a  gen- 
erous desire  to  bring  to  light  all  that  was  worthy  and 
creditable  in  the  past,  no  matter  how  much  it  differed 
from  prevailing  thought  and  feeling.  The  same 
generosity  is  seen  in  the  encouragement  and  praise 
given  always  and  without  stint  to  the  intellectual 
work  of  women.  Without  that  spirit  we  should  not 
have  had  those  brilliant  works  themselves,  nor  the 
emphatic  testimonies  which  the  critics  have  ren- 
dered. With  unerring  precision  M.  Cousin  strikes 
at  the  very  heart  of  the  discussion  of  the  limits  to 
be  placed  to  the  intellectual  education  of  women. 
He  says :  "  Man  and  woman  have  the  same  soul, 
the  same  moral  destiny;  the  same  account  will  be 
demanded  of  them  for  the  employment  of  their  fac- 
ulties, and  it  is  a  barbarity  for  man  and  an  oppro- 
brium for  woman  to  degrade  or  allow  others  to  de- 
grade the  talents  which  God  has  given  her.  Ought 
not  women  to  know  their  religion  if  they  wish  to 
practice  it  as  intelligent  and  free  beings  ?  And 
since  religious  instruction  is  not  only  permitted  to 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TURE. 


103 


them,  but  commanded,  what  kind  of  instruction,  I 
ask,  can  be  too  elevated  for  them  ? " 

Ste.  Beuve,  whom  a  popular  American  critic  calls 
"the  very  genius  of  observation,  discretion  and 
taste,"  was  even  more  ardent  as  a  critic  than  Cousin. 
His  "  Causeries  du  Lundi  "  show  us  the  limits  of 
psychological  analysis,  and  are  models  of  a  grand 
erudition  completely  subordinated  to  the  power  to 
entertain  and  enliven. 

But  the  greatest  of  all  critics — who  has  known 
how  to  combine  labor,  enthusiasm  and  brilliancy  of 
style  with  a  fully  rounded,  well  defined  Philosophi- 
cal theory — is  Hippolyte  Adolphe  Taine.  This 
theory  is,  to  be  sure,  capable  of  great  abuse,  but  if 
one  is  able  to  contemplate  it  as  an  abstraction,  it 
throws  an  almost  dazzling  light  upon  all  History, 
Literature  and  Art,  and  creates  a  new  world  for  the 
student.  This  theory  of  the  triumph  of  environment 
over  individuality  is  just  as  false  as  it  is  true  and 
just  as  true  as  it  is  false  :  but  Taine's  point  of  view 
happens  to  be  the  one  which  mankind  has  not  yet 
taken ;  it  is  fresh,  new,  startling,  and  delightful 
from  its  very  novelty.  His  "  History  of  English 
Literature  "  is  altogether  fascinating,  but  not  alto- 
gether fair.  He  greatly  underestimates  Milton, 
Dryden,  and  Pope,  and  imagines  that  the  English 
place  a  stress  upon  the  Literature  of  Charles  II. 
which  no  Englishman  ever  dreamed  of  placing  this 
Literature  being  absolutely  unknown  to  the  mass  of 
English  readers. 


IO4  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

I  ought  not  to  pass,  over  in  silence  the  critics 
who  have  been  my  guides  in  taking  up  this  study. 
St.  Marc  Girardin,  Roche,  Moland,  Mennechet  Ge- 
ruzez,  Sismondi,  Vinet,  etc.,  initiate  one  into  the 
mysteries  of  French  Literature  with  such  tact  that 
a  task  becomes  a  recreation. 

But  of  all  the  departments  of  Literature  peculiar 
to  the  French  and  unknown  to  other  nations,  that  of 
pure  Literature  itself  is  the  most  remarkable.  When 
writing  can  take  the  place  of  conversation,  and  when 
that  conversation  is  not  at  all  didactic,  but  simply 
stimulating,  vivacious  and  enjoyable,  Literary  art 
has  reached  its  climax.  We  have  in  our  language 
on  both  sides  of  the  sea  so  little  humor,  such  a  dearth 
of  wit,  that  we  know  nothing  of  the  exquisite  mental 
pleasure  excited  by  such  means.  The  English,  and 
especially  the  American,  mind  must  go  through  a 
course  of  training  in  order  to  appreciate  the  delicacy 
of  this  instrument  in  the  hands  of  a  Frenchman. 
In  such  writings  as  those  of  Alphonse  Daudet 
("Lettres  de  mon  Moulin"),  Xavier  de  Maistre 
("  Voyage  autour  de  ma  chambre  "),  Alphonse  Karr 
("  Promenades  hors  de  mon  Jardin  "),  and  Edmond 
About  ("  Le  Roi  des  Montagnes  "  ;  "  Grece  Contem- 
poraine  "),  one  may  realize  all  the  piquancy,  grace, 
and  charm  of  that  intellectual  converse  which  in  its 
viva  voce  form  is  wholly  beyond  the  reach  of  those 
who  must  live  in  obscurity. 

Among  the  celebrated  women  of  the  Ninetenth 
Century  who  have  cared  to  adopt  Literature  as  a 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITER  A  TORE. 


105 


profession  we  find  Mme.  Reybaud,  Mme.  Tastu, 
Mme.  Segalas,  Louise  Colet,  Comtesse  d'Agoult, 
Mme.  de  Charnace,  Louise  Baden,  the  Princesses 
De  Belgiojoso  and  Dora  D'Istria,  Mme.  Blanche- 
cotte,  Comtesse  Dash,  Comtesse  de  Gasparin,  and 
Mme.  Judith  Mendes.  Still  more  celebrated  is 
Mme.  de  Girardin,  one  of  the  greatest  Journalists 
of  modern  times,  successful  also  as  a  dramatist ;  the 
intimate  friend  of  Lamartine  and  Rachelle,  and  the 
subject  of  a  charming  sketch  by  Imbert  de  St. 
Amande,  who  forever  does  away  with  the  idea  that 
women  do  not  enjoy  a  public  life  and  the  work 
which  brings  them  before  the  world. 

The  Memoirs  of  the  world-renowned  artist,  Mme. 
Vigee  Le  Brun,  constitute  one  of  the  most  delightful 
and  valuable  contributions  to  the  History  of  our  own 
times.  The  painter  of  six  hundred  portraits,  fifteen 
fancy  scenes,  and  four  hundred  landscapes,  an  inde- 
fatigable traveler  and  the  honored  guest  of  many 
foreign  courts,  this  gifted  woman  still  found  time  to 
give  the  world  a  clear,  vivacious,  instructive  account 
of  her  eventful  career. 

Among  memorable  instances  of  a  successful  union 
of  fame  with  domestic  happiness,  that  of  Caroline 
and  Juste  Olivier  stands  conspicuous.  The  former, 
born  in  the  fields,  was  ambitious  of  distinction,  the 
latter,  born  in  the  mountains,  sang  for  the  pleasure 
of  singing.  But  in  coming  together  each  seems  to 
have  supplied  the  other's  want,  and  in  the  "  Two 


I06  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Voices  "  there  is  but  one  strain,  ringing  with  religion, 
patriotism  and  love  of  progress. 

Having  familiarized  himself  with  the  glowing 
imagery,  the  dazzling  brilliancy  and  the  intense 
subjectivity  of  the  great  romanticists,  Chateaubriand, 
Lamartine,  Victor  Hugo  and  his  followers,  writers 
who  always  have  before  them  the  beauty  rather  than 
the  truth  of  Christianity,  a  fresh  surprise  is  in  store 
for  the  reader  who  comes  upon  the  great  pleaders 
for  Protestantism,  Edmond  Scherer,  Vinet,  Monod, 
Pressense,  the  Coquerels,  father  and  two  sons,  and 
Roseeuw  St.  Hilaire.  An  austere  simplicity  in  lan- 
guage, a  profundity  in  thought  and  an  absolute 
sincerity  in  moral  conviction  render  these  writers, 
in  my  opinion,  the  greatest  that  France  has  known. 
Other  writers  answer  the  demands  made  by  some 
parts  of  our  being,  but  these  respond  to  every  noble 
aspiration.  While  the  darkened  intellect  is  enlight- 
ened, the  corrupt  heart  is  purified  and  the  weak 
will  strengthened,  and  the  highest  office  which  man 
can  perform  for  his  brother  is  fulfilled. 

In  bringing  to  a  close  a  sketch  of  this  kind,  some 
words  of  explanation  must  necessarily  be  made.  I 
have  not  attempted  to  do  more  than  offer  suggestions. 
I  have  purposely  avoided  the  mention  of  the  long  list 
of  eminent  scientists  for  which  France  is  famous.  I 
have  left  unnoticed  entire  departments  of  Literature, 
as  the  Memoir,  the  Tale,  the  Modern  Drama ;  in  short, 
I  have  conscientiously  adhered  to  the  self-prescribed 
rule  of  naming  only  such  writers  and  such  works  as 


GLIMPSES  INTO  FRENCH  LITERATURE. 


I,  myself,  have  studied  ;  and  again,  I  have  omitted 
many  names  of  men  and  books  with  which,  I  am 
well  acquainted,  in  the  fear  of  wearying  by  too  great 
prolixity.  Of  course  I  do  not  wish  any  one  to  un- 
derstand that  the  French  critics  whom  I  have  fol- 
lowed deal  only  in  praises.  They  are  just,  discrimi- 
nating and  systematically  severe.  But  my  object  is 
unlike  theirs.  I  am  tired  of  the  widely  prevailing  ig- 
norance of  all  that  is  good  and  pure  in  French  Liter- 
ature ;  and  where  I  could  not  praise  I  have  preferred 
to  keep  silence,  so  that  my  well-informed  reader  will 
appreciate  my  disapprobation  quite  as  well  as  my 
approval  ;  while  the  tyro  who  has  heard  of  nothing 
but  the  French  novel,  and  of  that  nothing  but  abuse, 
will  find  that  there  is  something  else  to  think  about. 
Chateaubriand  wrote  an  "  Essay  on  English 
Literature,"  in  which  the  translations  are  rather 
discouraging  to  the  student  of  a  foreign  Literature  ; 
for  instance,  "Adam  stood  blank,  "becomes  "Adam 
devint  blanc  ;  "  the  "  brook  which  flowed  fast  by  the 
oracle  of  God,"  according  to  Chateaubriand,  flowed 
"  rapidement  pres  ;  "  the  phrase  "  stood  at  my  head 
a  dream,"  is  metamorphosed  into  :  "%a  ma  tete  se 
tint  un  songe."  Roche  says  one  year  'does  not  suf- 
fice for  the  study  of  all  that  a  people  has  written 
during  eight  hundred  years.  Of  my  translations, 
I  will  only  say  that  they  are  as  faithful  as  it  seemed 
possible  to  make  them.  But  no  language  can  suf- 
fer more  by  translation  than  the  French,  —  a  fact 
witnessed  to  perpetually  by  the  adoption  of  count 


I08  STUDIES  IK  CRITICISM. 

less  French  phrases  into  all  languages.  Under  no 
circumstances,  however,  should  we  allow  ourselves 
to  be  absorbed  in  the  external  attractions  of  this 
great  Literature,  altogether  charming  and  alluring 
though  they  be.  It  is  necessary  to  penetrate  even 
beyond  the  semblance  of  the  exoteric  significance 
so  inevitably  associated  with  those  attractions. 
The  aim  and  object  of  French  Literature  is  not  to 
please,  but  to  instruct ;  not  to  delight  the  fancy,  but 
to  train  the  reasoning  faculty ;  not  to  excite  the  feel- 
ings, but  to  sound  the  intellect.  The  French  do 
not  live  to  read, — to  dream,  speculate  or  sigh  ;  they 
read  to  live,  to  know  all  that  is  in  human  life  and 
to  enrich  the  consciousness  by  this  universal  knowl- 
edge. Hence  we  find  that  "  nowhere  has  Literature 
had  as  much  efficacy  as  in  France,"  to  quote  the 
words  of  one  of  her  most  eloquent  writers,  "  nowhere 
has  it  had  as  much  perseverance.  For  nearly  five 
hundred  years,  from  the  Trouveres  to  Voltaire, 
French  Literature  labored  to  renovate  civilization, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  vicissitudes  of  fate,  it  has  glo- 
riously accomplished  its  work.  Let  History  come 
forward  to  judge  it,  let  its  detractors  appear  to 
accuse  it,  it  will  show  what  it  has  done ;  it  will  show 
liberty  given  as  a  patrimony  to  France  and  as  an 
example  to  the  universe." 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION. 

GENIUS  is  the  grand  generic  name  men  give  to 
intellectual  power.  That  significant  word  "  force," 
which  is  causing  so  much  debate  among  the  scient- 
ists of  to-day,  forms  the  keystone  to  one  of  the  pro- 
foundest  conceptions  that  can  agitate  the  soul.  Ma- 
terialists, baffled  by  the  Force  of  forces,  may  well 
tremble  for  their  theories  as  long  as  there  exists 
such  a  reality  as  genius ;  for  while  its  subtle  power 
is  so  preeminently  spiritual  as  to  defy  definition, 
its  effects  are  too  substantial  to  be  denied  by  the 
rashest. 

Genius  symbolizes  creative  energy.  And  when- 
ever or  wherever  the  God-like  gift  manifests  itself, 
men  bow  before  it  "  as  the  sheaves  of  the  eleven  be- 
fore that  of  Joseph."  Narrow  and  grovelling  in- 
deed must  be  the  soul  that  has  never  enthroned  a 
genius.  The  deathless  aspiration  after  glory,  the 
pride  of  family,  the  soul-swelling  consciousness  of 
noble  blood — what  are  they  but  witnesses  to  the 
universal  homage  men  render  to  its  sovereignty  ? 

We  seek  in  vain  for  words  to  express  our  delight 
in  that  power  which  extends  the  sphere  of  thought, 
inspires  and  quickens  the  flight  of  the  imagination, 
109 


I IO  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

deepens  the  capacity  for  feeling,  endows  all  who 
come  within  the  radii  of  its  circle  with  new  facul- 
ties, invests  life  itself  with  an  undreamed-of  charm, 
— unveils  an  ideal  world — and  does  all  this  in  vir- 
tue of  the  very  humanity  which  we  ourselves  share 
with  it. 

A  delight  in  Nature  is  sometimes  contrasted  with 
an  enthusiasm  for  genius,  the  life  of  the  universe 
with  the  life  of  thought.  Such  an  antithesis  does 
not  exist.  Nature  is  loved  by  the  self-poised  char- 
acter. Its  charm  is  addressed  to  the  thought  and 
feeling  already  at  work  within  the  soul  -•  it  does  not 
create  new  thoughts,  new  feelings.  The  animal, 
the  boor,  the  peasant  see  with  the  visual  organ  the 
same  natural  objects  which  the  educated  man  sees; 
to  them  those  objects  have  absolutely  no  meaning ; 
to  the  man  of  mind  they  not  only  have  a  meaning,  but 
a  special  meaning.  Children  of  precocious  intelli- 
gence and  the  keenest  sensibilities,  who  will  listen 
by  the  hour  to  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  story,  are 
totally  indifferent  to  the  aspects  of  Nature.  The 
English  say  that  their  tourists,  less  than  two  hun- 
dred years  ago,  were  the  first  persons  in  the  world 
to  discover  that  Mont  Blanc  was  a  fine  spectacle, 
and  that  it  was  worthwhile  to  visit  Chamounix.  We 
can  always  detect  in  those  who  know  that  they  really 
do  love  Nature  (Wordsworth  heading  the  list)  an 
element  of  the  most  invincible  pride.  In  short,  when 
you  love  Nature,  you  are  educated.  You  have  par- 
taken of  the  life  of  genius,  you  have  thought  and  felt 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  1 1 1 

about  something  more  than  the  cares  and  pleasures 
of  this  earthly  existence.  "  Thanatopsis,"  is  gener- 
ally considered  a  glowing  tribute  to  the  power  of 
"  Nature's  teachings."  It  is,  rather,  a  striking  tes- 
timony to  the  triumph  of  mind  over  matter.  While 
the  poet  allows  that  Nature  has  a  language  of  her 
own,  he  takes  care  to  state  that  it  is  one  which  is 
totally  dependent  upon  the  moods  of  man.  She 
has  a  voice  of  gladness  for  his  gayer  hours,  and 
glides  into  his  darker  musings  with  a  mild  and  heal- 
ing sympathy.  "When  thoughts  come,"  then  "go 
forth," — the  order  of  suggestion  is  as  unmistakable 
as  anything  could  well  be.  Critics  have  said,  "  Why, 
this  is  paganism ! "  forgetting  that  it  only  claims 
to  be  thought  informing  Nature,  when  Nature  is 
the  sole  object  of  thought.  This  principle  reaches  its 
perfection  in  the  Bible.  No  book  in  the  world  is  so 
full  of  references  to  Natural  objects  and  influences. 
The  most  transient,  as  well  as  the  sublimest  and 
most  lasting  of  Nature's  powers  are  noticed,  and  in 
every  case  for  the  purpose  of  showing  man's  power 
to  make  Nature  sympathize  with  him, — not  to  lose 
himself  in  Nature's  grandeur, — not  to  marvel  that 
Nature's  laws  can  be  broken  for  his  benefit — but  to 
realize  that  the  soul  is  greater  than  the  clod ;  that 
the  created  is  made  for  the  Creator. 

But  there  is  another  aspect  in  which  men  view  an 
admiration  for  genius.  They  distrust  it,  because 
they  believe  that  genius,  itself,  is  only  a  kind  of 
human  self-illumination,  and,  therefore,  an  admira- 


1 1 2  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

tion  for  it  must  be  based  upon  intellectual  pride  :  so 
that  while  all  recognize  the  might  and  majesty  of 
transcendent  mental  power,  many  do  so  under  pro- 
test, feeling  that  they  are  not  justified  even  in 
acknowledging  the  recognition.  This  deplorable 
misapprehension  goes  still  further.  It  calls  upon 
us  to  confess  that  genius  has  shipwrecked  many 
lives.  It  points  to  such  men  as  Burns,  Byron,  Shel- 
ley, Goethe,  Paine,  Voltaire,  Frederick  the  Great, 
Napoleon,  and  Emerson,  and  asks  :  Can  any  doubt — 
now  that  the  details  of  their  lives  have  been  spread 
before  us — that  each  of  these  suffered  a  moral  con- 
flict in  proportion  to  his  genius  ? 

By  still  more  sinister  means,  though  on  very  dif- 
ferent grounds,  a  false  estimate  is  put  upon  the 
significance  and  intent  of  genius.  I  mean  by  the 
dissemination  of  false  ideas  in  regard  to  religion  and 
its  sacred  claims.  By  hinting  that  religion  is  the 
refuge  of  weak  and  uncultivated  minds,  and  by  nar- 
rowing its  claims  to  the  performance  of  sectarian 
duties,  the  idea  is  excited  that  there  is  something  in 
the  very  conception  of  any  system  of  faith  and  wor- 
ship which  is  inherently  repulsive  to  the  self-suf- 
ficient power  we  call  genius. 

Laying  aside  preconceived  ideas,  let  us  resort  to 
the  testimony  of  History  on  this  subject. 

The  most  spontaneous  burst  of  genius  that  the 
world  has  ever  known  was  that  of  the  Greeks. 
And  does  it  not  almost  startle  one  to  find  that  in 
Art,  in  the  Drama,  in  Polities  and  in  Philosophy, 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  l  r  3 

their  one  theme  was  religion  ?  Ignorant  of  the 
true  God,  their  deification  of  nature  wasjhe  purest, 
noblest,  most  refined  of  all  Mythologies.  The  idols 
of  the  Greeks  have  been  the  models  of  ideal  beauty 
for  more  than  two  thousand  years.  To  their  inquir- 
ing, restless,  eager  minds  the  heavens  declared  the 
"glory  of  unseen  persons,  day  unto  day  showed  forth 
knowledge,  and  night  unto  night  uttered  speech. 
It  is  not  as  an  inference,  a  mere  metaphysical  spec- 
ulation, to  point  a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale,  that  we 
hear  of  religion  among  the  Greeks.  Their  genius 
but  rears  a  superstructure,  the  whole  foundation  of 
which  is  religion.  The  grand  and  gloomy  Tragedies 
of  Eschylus,  which  the  labors  of  Miiller,  Schlegel, 
Symonds,  Plumptre,  Buckley  and  Swanwick*  have 
now  put  within  the  reach  of  the  average  scholar, 
turn  entirely  upon  the  conflict  between  the  awful 
power  of  retributive  justice  and  human  freedom. 
Full  of  profound  significance,  they  stirred  the  na- 
tion's inmost  soul.  The  Titans,  symbolizing  the 
dark  and  mysterious  powers  of  nature  ;  the  younger 
gods,  embodying  all  that  enters  into  psychical  con- 
sciousness ;  and  the  furies,  denoting  that  self-con- 
demning divinity,  the  conscience,  make  the  "  Aga- 
memnon," the  "  Eumenides  "  and  the  "  Prometheus 
Bound  "  works  of  far  more  than  mere  literary  value, 
as  they  breathe  forth  the  unanswerable  cry,  "  What 
shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  own  soul  ? " 

*  The  translation  by  Anna  Swanwick  is  the  only  metrical 
translation  of  Eschylus  in  English. 
8 


!  I4  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Speculations  as  to  the  true  meaning  of  "  Prome- 
theus in  Chains  "  are  endless.  It  is  the  represen- 
tation of  constancy  under  suffering,  and  that  the 
never-ending  suffering  of  a  god.  It  is  the  idea  of  a 
self-devoting  divinity,  in  dim  foreboding  of  the  true 
religion.  It  is  the  mystery  of  being  thwarted,  de- 
spised, forsaken  in  the  noblest  endeavors  and  the 
loftiest  projects  :  Prometheus  is  punished  for  the 
benefit  he  confers.  Again,  he  confers  a  benefit,  we 
say,  but  it  is  a  gift  which  may  be  abused  just  as 
fatally  as  it  may  be  used  effectually.  Finally,  this 
wonderful  Drama  contains  a  prophecy  of  the  de- 
thronement of  that  Power  which,  when  wielded  for 
the  sake  of  Power,  is  synonymous  with  Evil.  What- 
ever we  make  of  all  this,  we  cannot  deny  its  pro- 
found religious  significance. 

Not  only  does  Eschylus  recognize  a  mysterious 
spiritual  nature  in  man  and  a  cosmic  Spiritual  Power 
opposed  to  man's  self-will  :  we  find  in  his  works  a 
faith,  a  reverence  for  the  gods  and  a  piety  which 
are  marvelous. 

"  A  dread  adversary  is  he  that  reveres  the  gods." 

"  For  mortals  to  succeed  is  a  boon  of  the  deity." 

"  There  is  no  bulwark  in  wealth  against  destruc- 
tion to  the  man,  who,  in  the  wantonness  of  his 
heart,  has  spurned  the  great  altar  of  Justice." 

"  To  be  free  from  evil  thoughts  is  God's  best 
gift."  [BUCKLEY'S  Translation. 

Eschylus  does  not  hesitate  to  teach  that  the  gods 
act  upon  principles  which  man  cannot  comprehend. 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  1 1  $ 

His  fatalism,  at  the  point  of  its  greatest  gloom,  is 
one  from  without,  never  the  modern  rdea  of  a  fatal- 
ism from  within.  We  do  not  wonder  that  mere 
men  could  not  act  the  Tragedies  of  Eschylus  :  that 
th'ey  called  for  the  cothurnus,  the  buskin  and  the 
mask.  They  are  grand  in  that  they  dare  to  touch 
upon  the  Infinite,  and  if,  as  a  genius  in  our  own  day 
has'declared,  Eschylus  is  the  test  of  the  understand- 
ing, he  is  not  less  so  in  the  demands  he  makes  upon 
its  spiritual  capacity  than  in  those  upon  its  purely 
intellectual  powers. 

The  discussions  and  dialectics  of  Socrates  and 
Plato  have  engrossed  the  attention  of  all  subsequent 
thinkers.  They  seem  to  possess  a  magnetism  un- 
known to  other  philosophers.  What  is  the  meaning 
of  this  ?  It  is  safe  to  say,  no  mere  man  ever  ex- 
ceeded Socrates  in  the  sincerity  of  his  search  for 
Truth  in  order  to  practise  it.  Plato,  in  elaborating  his 
longings,  gropings,  yearnings  for  a  true  basis  of 
religion,  his  indignant  repudiation  of  the  gross 
materialism  that  closed  him  in  on  every  side,  his 
sweeping  denunciation  of  worldliness  and  worldly 
principles  of  action,  is  identified  with  his  great 
teacher  even  in  the  character  of  martyr.  In  the 
earlier  stages  of  examination  and  study,  one  is 
tempted  to  wonder  how  the  learned  world  can  so 
magnanimously  overlook  the  many  painfully  child- 
ish, foolish,  ridiculous,  notions  entertained  by  the 
great  sage.  Not  only  the  doctrine  of  Pre-existence, 
(which  has  a  side  so  utterly  inane,  profitless  and 


I  j6  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

intolerable,  that  it  is  hard  to  see  how  any  strong  mind 
can  want  to  contemplate  it)  but  the  belief  in  the  in- 
vasion of  the  Amazons,  in  the  existence  of  such 
beings  as  centaurs,  chimerae,  Cyclopes,  in  myths 
resting  upon  the  fiction  of  descent  from  a  god,  the 
laws  laid  down  for  the  most  unmitigated  despotism 
in  political  government,  and  the  theories  worse 
than  despotic  and  inconsistent  in  regard  to  property 
and  marriage  are,  from  a  perfectly  practical,  ration- 
alistic stand-point,  absurd  in  the  extreme.  It  is 
only  in  fixing  the  attention  upon  the  poetic,  creative, 
religious  side  of  Plato's  ideas  that  we  find  any  ex- 
planation of  their  greatness,  any  mode  of  account- 
ing for  their  position  before  the  world.  The  mighty 
task  which  he  set  himself — of  showing  how  archetypal 
and  immutable  ideas  are  to  be  substituted  for  the 
shifting  phenomena  of  sense — was  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  proving  the  Immortality  of  the  soul  and 
the  supreme  majesty  of  Virtue.  Plato  is  the  prince 
of  enthusiasts,  and  it  is  through  his  deep  feeling  and 
ardent  longing  that  he  has  so  powerfully  impressed 
mankind. 

Homer,  so  universally  regarded  as  the  fountain- 
head  of  Poetry,  Art,  Grecian  Mythology  and  classic 
lore,  is  not  easily  ranked  in  any  category.  John 
Foster,  one  of  the  most  powerful  writers  in  all 
English  Literature,  in  examining  the  moral  and 
religious  tone  of  Homer  brands  it  as  "  revolting," 
"  utterly  atrocious,"  "  purely  horrid."  But  the  relig- 
ious tone  of  Homer  is  not  more  unlike  that  of 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  i  j  7 

Christianity  than  the  political  tone  is  unlike  modern 
conceptions  of  government,  or  than  the  ideas  of  phy- 
sical superiority,  domestic  happiness  "and  aesthetic 
culture  are  foreign  to  our  present  ideas.  As  moral 
guides  the  Homeric  Greeks  had  only  utility,  appro- 
priateness and  the  sense  of  the  beautiful,  and  it  is 
in  reference  only  to  these  that  we  can  speak  of  any 
direct  teaching.  Now  the  works  of  genius  do  not 
exist  to  inculcate  positive  doctrines.  It  is  by  their 
indirect  force  that  they  wield  so  sublime  a  power. 
This  indirect  force  in  Homer  is  heroism.  And  hero- 
ism is  noble,  admirable,  lovable.  You  can  look  at 
the  darkest  side  if  you  choose,  you  can  call  the  pas- 
sion of  the  "  Iliad  "  revenge,  vindictiveness,  insa- 
tiable pride.  But  it  is  hard  to  see  how  the  world 
could  ever  understand  moral  or  spiritual  heroism 
unless  it  first  clearly  understood  physical,  animal, 
visible  heroism.  War  may  be  an  evil  in  itself,  and 
yet  afford  occasion  for  nobler  virtues  than  the  world 
could  ever  know  without  it.  The  English  as  a  na- 
tion have  been  reared  on  Homer,  and  you  will  find 
vindications,  apologies  and  justifications  for  war  in 
their  writings  unequaled  in  any  other  Literature. 
But  to  whatever  discussions  this  may  lead,  it  cannot 
be  maintained  that  the  English  are  an  irreligious 
people.  Foster's  marked  individuality  compelled 
him  to  differ  with  his  countrymen  in  their  admira- 
tion for  Homer  not  less  than  in  many  other  respects. 
He  confers  a  benefit  in  pointing  out  the  worst  fea- 
tures of  the  Homeric  moralitv,  but  he  does  not  sue- 


1 1 8  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ceed  in  showing  (indeed  he  does  not  attempt  the  task) 
why  it  is  that  none  but  the  Christian  world  cares  for 
Homer.  Why  not  offer  as  an  explanation  (though  it 
may  not  be  the  best  nor  the  final  one)  the  fact  that 
Christianity  cultivates,  expands  and  elevates  the  emo- 
tions more  than  any  power  which  has  been  brought  to 
bear  upon  humanity  ?  and  as  the  "  Iliad  "  is  a  poem 
in  which  strong  feeling  carries  all  before  it,  it  then 
follows  that  the  Christian  scholar  will  be  more  alive 
to  its  charms  than  any  other. 

Passing  over  the  avowedly  religious  works  of 
Hesiod,  the  stern  recognition  of  a  Divine  Power  so 
indelibly  impressed  upon  the  page  of  Xenophon,  the 
beauty  and  tenderness  of  Sophocles,  who  in  relig- 
ious feeling  is  only  a  softened  Eschylus,  let  us  note 
the  striking  fact  that  intellectual  excellence  de- 
creases just  as  irreligion  increases.  Euripides  marks 
the  close  of  an  epoch  in  religious  thought  and  in 
the  works  of  genius.  His  faith  in  the  gods  was 
shaken,  and  though  we  exonerate  him  on  the  ground 
that  the  Grecian  gods  were  unworthy  of  faith,  we 
must  deplore  the  reflection  of  this  unsettled  faith  in 
Tragedy,  for  it  is  the  death-blow  to  its  grandeur. 
The  spirit  of  poetry  does  not  accord  with  such 
moral  dissertations,  for  instance,  as  we  find  in  the 
"  Ion  "  of  Euripides,  where  he  says  : 

"  Yet  must  I  blame  the  god,  *  *  * 
*******    Do  not  thou 
Act  thus ;  but,  as  thy  power  is  great,  respect 
The  virtues  ;  for  whoso'er,  of  mortal  men, 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  i  JQ 

Dares  impious  deeds,  him  the  gods  punish;  how 

Is  it  then  just  that  you  who  gave  the  laws 

To  mortals,  should  yourselves  transgress  those  laws  ? 

If  (though  it  is  not  thus,  yet  will  I  urge 

The  subject), — if  to  mortals  you  shall  pay 

The  penalty  of  certain  crimes,  thou, 

Neptune,  and  Jove,  that  reigns  supreme  in  heaven, 

Will  leave  your  temples  treasureless  by  paying 

The  mulcts  of  your  injustice  ;  for  unjust 

You  are,  your  pleasures  to  grave  temperance 

Preferring  :  and  to  men  these  deeds,  no  more 

Can  it  be  just  to  charge  as  crimes,  these  deeds 

If  from  the  gods  they  imitate  ;  on  those 

Who  gave  the  ill  example  falls  the  charge." 

[POTTER'S  Translation. 

Whether  Euripides  sought  to  do  away  with  the 
idea  of  retributive  justice  in  his  dramas,  and,  indeed, 
to  make  this  little  span  of  earthly  life  the  theme  of 
absorbing  interest,  it  were  hard  to  tell ;  but  even 
those  who  see  no  connection  between  intellectual 
greatness  and  religion  are  compelled  to  acknowl- 
edge that  after  this  the  Athenian  glory  wanes. 

As  for  Greek  Sculpture,  the  more  deeply  we  are 
at  first  impressed  by  its  exalted  and  lofty  character, 
the  more  do  we  feel  our  inability  to  comprehend  its 
underlying  principles,  or  to  express  in  words  an 
admiration  which  we  know  to  be  unintelligent. 
The  beauty  that  constitutes  the  charm  of  this 
wonderful  Art  may  address  itself  to  the  eye  and  to 
the  feelings  at  once,  but  not  to  the  understanding 
until  it  has  been  subjected  to  the  labor  of  profound 
thought.  As  the  people  who  gloried  in  intellectual 


120  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

acuteness  expressed  their  keenest  perceptions  in 
Sculpture,  so  the  individual  who  would  understand 
this  expression  must  seek  to  attain,  in  a  measure,  to 
the  same  plane  of  being,  But  Art  is  in  its  very 
nature  sensuous ;  the  expression  of  ideas  must  evi- 
dently be  subordinated  to  that  of  beauty,  which  is 
the  supreme  law  of  its  being.  Is  there,  then,  such 
a  thing  as  a  standard  of  beauty  and  an  aesthetic 
dictum  compelling  universal  assent  ?  We  are 
forced  to  confess  that  there  is  not.  Taste  is  largely 
the  result  of  education,  and  the  greatest  enthusiasts 
must  admit  that  the  appreciation  of  beauty  is. 
neither  a/  necessary  nor  a  universal  principle. 
Nevertheless,  for  the  admirers  of  Greek  Art  there 
are  inflexible  laws,  relentless  toward  all  who  refuse 
obedience  to  their  control.  For  the  beauty  which 
the  Greeks  adored  was  not  only  that  of  mind ;  it 
was  the  mental  power  of  beings  deemed  superior  to 
man  in  everything  that  makes  man  great.  Modern 
Art  (and  even,  that  of  the  Renaissance)  yields  to 
the  dominion  of  mere  physical  charms.  Let  us 
observe  how  subordinate  these  are  in  Greek  Art. 
Impersonality  is  its  distinguishing  feature.  The 
light  of  the  body  is  the  eye ;  yet  in  their  statues  we 
find  nothing  but  the  opaque,  solid  socket.  Again, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  representing  ideal,  not 
actual,  individual  beauty,  single  beautiful  features 
were  selected  from  different  bodies  and  united  in 
one.  Still  further,  the  beauties  and  attributes  of 
both  sexes  were  united  in  the  Hermaphrodites.  It 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  1 2  \ 

is  interesting  to  note  the  rules  of  proportion,  sym- 
metry, outline,  etc.,  upon  which  their  works  are 
based.  But  so  far  we  are  only  in  the  outer  courts 
of  Art.  The  absence  of  coloring  (in  most  cases), 
of  expression  either  of  body  or  countenance,  of 
passion,  of  individuality,  lift  us  at  once  from  the 
concrete  into  the  realm  of  the  abstract.  Their 
intense  love  of  Nature,  their  endeavor  to  conform 
to  natural  laws,  ^Iheir  keen  appreciation  of  the 
beauty  of  those  laws,  which  are  visible  in  all  their 
artistic  creations,  prove  that  they  were  not  insen- 
sible to  the  power  of  the  visible,  the  material  and 
the  earthly,  nor  depreciators  of  physical  attractions. 
But  these  they  regarded  as  a  means,  not  an  end. 
They  perceived  the  nobleness  of  the  human  body ; 
the  meaning  in  the  action  of  the  hands  and  feet ; 
the  grandeur  of  the  brow  as  the  seat  of  the  soul. 
Repose  they  regarded  as  the  state  most  appropriate 
to  beauty.  Serenity,  decorum,  propriety,  the  evi- 
dences of  a  disciplined  mind  pierced  through  all 
external  fascinations.  Unity,  harmony,  simplicity 
form  the  foundation  of  their  ideas  of  beauty. 
These  conceptions  give  man  some  faint  idea  of  the 
Infinite.  However  our  minds  are  limited  and 
bounded  by  the  material  universe  and  our  earthly 
sphere  of  being,  there  are  moments  of  elevation  in 
which  the  human  spirit  perceives  not  only  its  own 
negative  powers,  but  the  positive  counterparts  of 
those  negations  and  the  attributes  that  shadow 
forth  Perfection,  Happiness,  Eternity. 


122  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

We  have  noticed  the  ideas  which  elevate.  Those 
which  delight  must  not  be  forgotten.  The  absence 
of  voluptuousness,  wantonness  and  all  sensuality 
proves  that  the  Greeks  had  an  elevated  idea  of 
enjoyment.  Here,  again,  general  rather  than 
specific  qualities  predominate.  Their  idea  of  the 
qualifications  necessary  to  an  harmonious  existence 
may  be  summed  up  in  the  words  Youth,  Strength 
and  Intellectual  Freedom.  Eve^the  Furies  were 
represented  as  strong,  joyous  young  virgins.  Life 
was  never  caricatured;  peculiarities  and  infirmities 
were  not  perpetuated;  the  features  were  not  dis- 
torted by  pain  nor  disturbed  by  passion.  "To  pre- 
sent the  uttermost  to  the  eye,"  says  Lessing,  "  is  to 
bind  the  wings  of  fancy,  to  compel  her,  since  she 
cannot  soar  beyond  the  impression  made  on  the 
senses,  to  employ  herself  with  feebler  images,  shun- 
ning as  her  limit  the  visible  fulness  already  ex- 
pressed." This  explains  why  the  Greeks  avoided 
expressing  anything  essentially  transitory.  No 
passing  phase  of  life,  no  evanescent  emotion,  be  it 
one  of  joy  or  sorrow,  no  trifling  thought  or  aspi- 
ration is  represented  in  their  Sculpture.  This  is  the 
secret  of  its  charm  for  all  peoples  and  all  ages.  It 
is  the  expression  of  ideas  grandly  portraying  the 
vague  longings,  boundless  desires  and  inexpressible 
thoughts  which  are  common  to  the  whole  human 
race. 

Of  course  when  we  now  speak  of  religion,  all  the 
pure  and  sublime  morality  of  the  New  Testament 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  12$ 

confronts  us,  and  it  is  difficult  to  abstract  the  required 
element.  But  that  "  thirst  for  the  living  God,"  of 
which  the  inspired  poet  of  Israel  sung  so  elo- 
quently, is  the  source  and  spring  of  all  real  religious 
life,  and  this  has  made  itself  felt  in  the  darkest 
regions  of  the  earth. 

We  cannot  wrest  the  secret  of  the  individuality  of 
a  nation  from  it  any  more  than  that  of  a  person 
from  him,  or  than  we  can  wrest  it  from  our  own 
being.  Who  will  tell  us  what  made  the  Jew  a  Jew, 
the  Greek  a  Greek,  the  Roman  a  Roman  ?  Histo- 
rians evade  this  question,  for  it  is  evident  that  here 
we  enter  not  only  upon  the  supernatural,  but  peer 
into  the  most  intensely  personal  and  spiritual  ele- 
ments that  go  to  make  up  character.  Causes  are 
sought  in  topography,  climate  and  physical  agencies, 
i.e.,  irresponsible  agencies,  which  are  self-contradic- 
tory, for  if  these  so  powerfully  affected  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Greece  at  one  period,  why  had  they  no 
effect  at  other  periods  ?  And  nothing  can  be  more 
dissimilar  than  the  destiny  and  character  of  the 
Greeks  at  different  periods.  The  same  indenture 
of  coast,  the  same  variety  of  surface  and  coast-land, 
the  same  mountain  ranges  and  the  same  sterile  soil 
are  there  yet,  but  even  those  who  do  not  acknowl- 
edge that  the  Guiding  Hand  of  Divine  Providence, 
in  mysterious  and  inexplicable  combination  or  con- 
flict with  the  human  will,  can  alone  account  for 
character,  do  not  look  for  a  new  dawn  of  Art, 
Literature  or  Philosophy  among  the  Greeks. 


124 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


They  will  resort  to  the  statement  that  it  was 
Macedonian  ambition  and  Roman  despotism  that 
stifled  the  Greek  genius.  But  no  ;  the  lesson  that 
history  unfolds  is  that  as  long  as  this  great  people 
sought  to  find  out  God,  the  elevated  conceptions 
and  glorious  thoughts  which  such  a  search  provides 
nourished  and  sustained  the  intellect.  But  it  seems 
to  have  formed  a  part  of  the  plan  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence to  demonstrate  man's  utter  incapacity  to 
devise  a  system  of  religion  for  himself.  And  the 
greater  failure  involved  all  others. 

Sparta  and  Carthage  once  stood  pitted  against 
Athens  and  Rome.  At  least  so  we  believe  on  the 
testimony  of  the  historians,  for  nothing  remains  of 
their  splendid  material  civilization.  They  had  no 
poets,  for  they  had  no  lofty  aspirations  to  embody, 
no  longings  for  a  purer  state  of  existence  to  express. 
Hence,  they  are  blotted  from  the  roll  of  nations, 
and  through  her  works  of  genius,  Athens,  as  About 
says,  has  triumphed  over  Sparta  for  more  than 
twenty  centuries. 

It  is  certainly  strange  that  to  the  masses  of  man- 
kind all  the  greatness  of  China  is  concentrated  in 
the  one  man,  Confucius,  the  marvelous  lover  of  right- 
eousness and  truth;  that  the  genius  of  India  is 
known  only  through  the  Vedas,  the  "  Ramayana  " 
and  the  "  Mahabarata,"  vast  collections  of  poems 
and  precepts  in  honor  of  the  gods  or  for  the 
furtherance  of  piety  ;  and  that  what  we  have  of 
Etruscan  Art  corresponds  so  exactly  with  what  we 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION. 


125 


are  told  of  Etruscan  character,  in  that  mediocrity 
whose  hopelessness  consists  Jn  its  unruffled  placid- 
ity and  contentment. 

When  the  Arab  dreamed  of  revealing  a  new  sys- 
tem of  dynamics  to  the  world,  it  was  as  the  founder 
of  a  new  religion  that  he  appeared  before  his  con- 
temporaries. We  are  so  accustomed  to  regard 
Mohammed  as  "  the  false  prophet,"  and  to  compare 
the  religion,  which  he  founded  with  the  Christian 
religion  that  we  have  never  accorded  him  the  praise 
which  is  his  due.  Whether  rightly  or  not  applied  to 
Mohammed  in  its  primary  meaning,  the  sublime 
language  of  the  "  Revelation," 

"  And  I  beheld  a  star  fall  from  heaven," 

cannot  but  be  felt  to  be  very  applicable  and  highly 
suggestive  in  this  connection.  Though  densely 
ignorant,  he  was  a  man  of  genius,  and  a  man  to 
whom  religion  was  a  necessity.  That  he  was  born 
to  rule,  born  to  be  a  leader  among  men,  born,  in  the 
only  sense  in  which  one  can  be,  "  to  the  purple," 
that  he  knew  his  mental  superiority  to  those  around 
him,  his  own  power  and  preeminence  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  treacherous  nature  of  the  people 
with  whom  he  had  to  deal,  the  difficulties  and 
persecutions  which  awaited  him,  did  not  prevent 
him  from  desiring  to  be  a  teacher  of  religion — of 
a  system  of  truth,  which,  however  faulty,  inconsist- 
ent and  unreliable  it  might  be,  yet  connected  man's 


1 26  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM, 

present  life  with  a  Hereafter  and  made  the  eternal 
triumph  over  the  temporal  good. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  idea  that  genius  draws 
its  life  from  religion,  nothing  can  be  more  forcible 
than  the  history  of  his  followers,  the  Saracens. 
There  is  no  parallel  to  the  rapidity  of  their  intellect- 
ual development.  That  their  enthusiasm  for  knowl- 
edge produced  the  European  revival  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  that  our  present  type  of  civilization  is  largely 
due  to  their  inventions  and  discoveries,  and  that 
even  in  Philosophy  they  anticipated  many  modern 
theories,  are  now  so  many  authenticated  facts.  If 
ever  the  sun  of  prosperity  shone  on  a  people  in  un- 
mitigated splendor,  it  was  when,  conquerors  from 
Sinde  to  Spain,  the  almost  omnipotent  Arabs  held 
the  key  to  all,  yes,  all  the  treasures  of  the  human 
intellect.  Egyptian,  Syrian,  Indian,  Persian, 
Greek  and  Roman  lore  lay  at  their  feet.  And  this 
was  to  be  seized  by  the  most  brilliant  imagination, 
indomitable  will  and  fiery  energy  of  which  the  world 
has  any  knowledge.  And  for  a  time  their  progress 
was  not  disappointing.  The  genius  of  the  Moslem 

"  Glares  a  broad  column  of  advancing  flame 
Along  the  Danube  and  the  Illyrian  shore 
Far  into  Italy." 

But  the  defeat  at  Tours,  the  deprivation  of  Gre- 
nada, the  broken  sword,  the  spilt  blood  will  not  ex- 
plain the  death  of  genius.  Caesar  thought  that  he 
conquered  Gaul ;  but  his  conquest  was  the  baptism 


GENIUS  AND,  RELIGION. 


127 


of  the  phoenix;  the  French  rose  on  the  ruins  of  the 
Latin  language,  and  GauMived  to  do  more  than 
conquer  her  brutal  conquerors.  Germany  was 
shaken  to  its  centre  by  the  Thirty  Years'  war  just 
as  an  exquisite  language  and  literature  were 
efflorescing ;  yet  the  subsequent  full  fruit  in  the  ear 
outstripped  every  feature  of  its  early  promise.  No  ! 
impartial  investigation  must  seek  for  other  causes 
than  unsuccessful  warfare  to  account  for  the  annihi- 
lation of  genius.  The  very  mention  of  the  Arab  re- 
calls the  religion  with  which  he  is  identified.  No 
one  can  glance  into  his  history  and  refuse  to  ac- 
knowledge that  religion  here  plays  a  rble  of  supreme 
importance.  And  the  inevitable  corollary  of  this 
acknowledgment  is  that  Islamism,  like  a  blighting 
frost,  sapped  the  national  genius  in  the  zenith  of  its 
glory,  and  poisoned  the  luscious  fruits  as  they  fell 
from  the  tree  of  knowledge. 

As  it  was  with  the  Greeks,  so  it  was  with  the 
Saracens ;  religion  inspired  and  fostered  the  na- 
tional genius  as  long  as  there  was  anything  vital 
and  pure  in  that  religion  (and  the  works  of  genius 
are  indisputable  witnesses  to  the  fact  that  there  are 
elements  of  vitality  and  purity  in  a  subjective  re- 
ligion— that  there  is  One  who  hears  and  responds 
to  the  desires  of  those  who  worship  Him,  even 
though  it  be  as  "  the  Unknown  God  "  )  ;  but  man  must 
learn  through  bitter  experience  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  objective  Truth,  and  the  awful  penalty  af- 
fixed to  a  neglect  in  searching  for  it. 


I  28  STUDIES  Itf  CRITICISM. 

It  is  only  in  turning  to  the  Christian  religion, 
then,  that  we  shall  find  the  fullest,  clearest,  noblest 
manifestation  of  this  principle.  An  unknown 
reader  of  this  Essay  as  it  was  written  and  published 
several  years  ago  wrote  to  me  to  ask  "  how  it  could 
be  that  a  false  and  idolatrous  religion,  could  have 
inspired  genius  that  would  compare  so  favorably 
with  the  genius  born  of  the  true  religion."  "  It  would 
seem,"  he  says,  "that  the  genius  of  the  one  would 
be  to  that  of  the  other  as  a  mere  human  idea  is  to 
God's  grandest  conception." 

This  idea  is  totally  irrelevant  to  my  subject, 
which  is  not  a  comparison  of  different  religious 
faiths  and  their  specific  effects  upon  the  human  in- 
tellect at  all  (though  this  would  be  a  deeply  inter- 
esting subject  for  investigation)  j  my  inquiry  is  of 
Faith,  not  faiths,  of  Religion,  not  religions,  and  of 
Genius,  not  degrees  and  kinds  of  genius.  Life,  it- 
self, is  not  less  the  gift  of  God  (and  we  who  know  it 
to  be  such  are  not  the  less  willing  to  acknowledge 
it),  because  many  who  enjoy  it  do  not  recognize  it 
as  His  gift.  The  French  senator  who  thought  that 
to  abolish  religious  services  would  be  "  to  banish 
God,"  was  rightly  met  and  answered  by  his  brother 
senator,  who  reminded  him  that,  religious  services  or 
no  religious  services,  they  could  not  banish  God. 
No,  I  repeat,  we  cannot  banish  God,  whether  we 
see  or  do  not  see  any  indications  of  His  presence 
and  His  power  at  any  time,  in  any  place. 

The  only  reason  we   find  the  most  satisfactory 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION. 


I29 


connection  between  genius  and  religion  in  turning 
to  Christianity  is  that  we  have  a  much  better  oppor- 
tunity of  judging.  It  is  our  own  faith,  and  we  love 
to  learn  what  it  has  done.  Moreover,  no  other 
faith  has  had  nearly  nineteen  centuries  of  unbroken 
influence.  And  again,  no  other  faith  pretends  to  be 
as  comprehensive. 

Should  we  wish  to  institute  a  comparison — not 
between  the  intrinsic  grandeur  of  ancient  and  mod- 
ern works  of  Art,  but — between  the  values  the 
world  now  places  upon  the  two,  or  the  reasons  for 
preferring  the  one  to  the  other,  we  need  not  be 
alarmed  for  the  Christian  works.  Who  can  seriously 
compare  the  Madeleine  (and  it  is  the  best  represen- 
tation of  the  Parthenon  that  we  can  have),  with 
Westminster  Abbey  ?  Or  who  can  mention  the 
Roman  Basilicas  in  the  same  breath  with  the 
Cologne  Cathedral  ?  The  world  has  been  enriched 
by  so  many  new  ideas  since  the  establishment  of 
Christianity,  that  it  is  not  possible  to  wander  through 
St.  Peter's  and  the  Cologne  Cathedral  with  the 
same  feelings.  Both  are  Christian  Churches,  so  it 
is  the  Art  itself,  not  the  particular  faith  which 
moves  one.  Gothic  Architecture  shows  us  what  the 
Christian  religion  has  done  to  affect  the  Art  of 
building.  Nothing  half  so  sublime,  so  majestic  or 
so  glorious  had  been  conceived  of  in  the  classic 
world.  It  is  the  consecration  of  gloom,  of  melan- 
choly, of  sadness.  The  faultless  Parthenon  glit- 
tered with  fair  colors  and  dazzling  marbles — telling 
9 


1 30  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

man  that  life  was  a  boon  to  be  enjoyed.  The  stern, 
dark  Cathedral  tells  us  that  the  seal  of  death  is 
needed  to  dignify  and  exalt  the  grandest,  as  well  as 
the  meanest,  human  destiny. 

So  it  is  in  comparing  Greek  Sculpture  and  Chris- 
tian Painting.  Let  the  ancient  faith  have  its  cold, 
emotionless,  unsympathetic  statues.  Color,  which 
Ruskin  calls  "  of  all  God's  gifts  to  the  sight  of  man, 
the  holiest,  the  most  divine,  the  most  solemn," 
"loved  most  by  the  purest  and  most  thoughtful 
minds,"  comes  to  us  through  Christianity.  It  is 
needed  to  clothe  ideas  of  transcendent  beauty, — not 
of  a  tranquil,  serene  existence  here  on  earth,  "  a 
refined  and  noble  sensuality,"*  but  of  a  life  which 
suffers  because  it  loves,  and  in  loving  and  suffering 
finds  the  mystery  of  its  being  solved  as  by  no  other 
principle. 

Reverting  to  the  peculiar  connection  between 
genius  and  the  Christian  religion  from  its  very  be- 
ginning, we  find,  first,  the  great  Fathers  of  the 
Church.  The  Latin  Fathers,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Am- 
brose, St.  Augustine  and  St.  Gregory  the  Great 
were  undoubtedly  the  most  learned  men  of  the  age, 
three  of  them  were  lawyers  of  brilliant  reputation 
and  all  had  received  the  best  education  the  times 
could  afford.  In  that  absolute  devotion  which  can 


*  The  phrase  is  Schlegel's,  and,  taken  apart  from  the  con- 
text, seems  to  me  calculated  to  be  misconstrued.  I  will  there- 
fore refer  my  reader  to  Lecture  I.  in  "  Dramatic  Art  and 
Literature." 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  ^i 

only  be  excited  in  a  strong  mind  to  a  cause  which 
proves  worthy  of  the  most  unwearied  effort,  we  find 
the  only  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  incalculable 
influence  these  men  have  wielded,  and  do  wield  yet, 
in  our  own  day.  The  Greek  Fathers,  Chrysostom, 
Basil,  Athanasius  and  Gregory  Nazianzen  are  scarce- 
ly less  celebrated.  Their  eloquence,  their  heroism, 
their  firm  faith  will  never  cease  to  elicit  praise. 
How  is  it  with  the  men  who  opposed  Christianity, 
wrote,  taught,  spoke  against  it  ?  No  one  has  ever 
pretended  that  Julian,  Porphyry,  Celsus,  Theophilus, 
Hierocles,  etc.,  were  men  of  such  genius  and  learn- 
ing. Some,  indeed,  have  said  that  because  Chris- 
tianity became  the  state-religion  of  the  empire,  there- 
fore those  who  upheld  and  promoted  it  were  brought 
into  notice  and  those  who  opposed  it  were  neglected 
and  forgotten.  But  why  did  Christianity  become 
the  religion  of  the  empire?  Humanly  speaking, 
only  because  it  had  become  so  strong  that  it  could 
not  be  resisted.  The  minds  which  had  given  them- 
selves up  to  its  influence  were  so  strengthened,  ex- 
panded and  elevated  that  they  were  able  to  convert 
a  heathen  world.  We  do  not  know  how  s-trong  the 
human  mind  can  prove  itself  until  we  see  it  conse- 
crated to  the  Truth. 

From  the  Fathers  we  pass  to  the  Monks.  Men 
devoid  of  religious  feeling  often  speak  and  write 
with  such  rancor  against  priests  and  priestly  in- 
fluence that  it  can  be  attributed  only  to  a  base  jeal- 
ousy. This  jealousy,  from  their  point  of  view,  is 


132  S  TUDIES  IN  CRITIC  I  SAL 

not  to  be  wondered  at.  In  all  ages  priests — teach- 
ers sent  from  God — have  exercised  a  power  so  much 
greater  than  any  other  which  men  can  wield,  that  it 
must  either  be  submitted  to  or  scoffed  at.  We  are 
not  obliged  to  assume  that  such  a  power  was  con- 
ferred for  a  good  purpose,  for  we  cannot  but  enjoy 
tracing  certain  specific  benefits  to  this  source.  No 
prejudices  should  be  permitted  to  blind  our  eyes  in 
this  search  for  truth.  The  more  closely  we  look 
into  the  details  of  History,  the  more  reasonable  do 
we  find  the  establishment  of  religious  communities. 
In  the  social  chaos  evolved  by  the  overthrow  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  and  in  the  consequent  demand 
made  upon  every  kind  of  energy,  only  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  people  could  devote  themselves  to  intel- 
lectual education  and  culture.  Why  this  portion 
was  the  religious  portion  I  am  unable  to  say,  unless 
it  is  that  there  is  some  natural  connection  between 
learning  and  religion.  Mrs.  Jameson  calls  the 
Benedictine  Order  of  Monks  "  the  great  instrument 
of  civilization  in  modern  Europe."  They  were  the 
sole  depositaries  of  learning  and  the  arts  through 
several  centuries,  preserving  and  multiplying  copies 
of  the  Scriptures,  as  well  as  all  trie  works  of  Pliny, 
Sallust  and  Cicero.  They  were  the  fathers  of 
Gothic  Architecture,  of  a  new  school  of  Music  and  of 
agricultural  science,  and  by  their  Order  were  either 
laid  or  preserved  the  foundations  of  all  the  eminent 
schools  of  learning  in  Europe.  Don  Lorenzo 
Monaco  and  Don  Giulio  Clovis  are  among  the 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  j^ 

greatest  painters :  Theophilus  the  Monk,  in  the 
twelfth  century  wrote  arable  treatise  on  Chemistry 
and  the  Fine  Arts :  Guido  d'Arezzo  was  the  in- 
ventor of  the  gamut :  Guido  Aretino,  the  greatest 
musician  of  his  time,  was  the  inventor  of  the  modern 
system  of  musical  notation. 

After  the  Crusades  the  same  reasons  for  a  se- 
cluded, studious  life  no  longer  prevailed.  The 
Mendicant  Orders  were  instituted  so  that  an  author- 
ized class  of  men  could  go  out  into  the  world  as 
missionaries ;  preach,  teach,  comfort,  guide  the 
ignorant  people,  now  rendered  more  distracted  than 
ever  by  the  social  upheavals  attendant  on  the  Cru- 
sades. From  Mr.  Grote  we  learn  that  the  Francis- 
can monks  were  the  first  persons  to  establish  Lend- 
ing-houses  or  Banks  in  Europe.  And  let  us  note 
the  interesting  fact  that  they  did  this  for  the  express 
purpose  of  rescuing  poor  borrowers  from  the  exor- 
bitant interest  imposed  by  individual  lenders.  It  is 
something  of  a  surprise  to  learn  that  these  Lending- 
houses  were  originally  called  "  Mounts  of  Piety," 
and  that  the  discussion  of  their  lawfulness  was  an 
ecclesiastical  matter,  the  final  decision  resting  en- 
tirely upon  the  authority  of  the  Church.  While  the 
Benedictines  and  all  the  Orders  derived  from  theirs 
had  been  promoters  and  encouragers  of  the  Arts, 
the  Mendicant  Orders,  and  especially  the  Domin- 
icans, became  patrons  on  a  scale  of  munificence 
never  equalled  before  or  since.  It  is  to  their  patron- 
age, chiefly,  that  we  owe  the  greatest  paintings, 


134 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


sculptures  and  churches  now  in  Europe.  Fra 
Filippo  Lippi,  Fra  Bartolomeo  and  Fra  Angelico  da 
Fiesole  are  names  which  the  world  will  not  willingly 
let  die.  The  Jesuits  also  became  patrons  of  Art, 
Rubens  and  Vandyck  executing  their  finest  works 
at  their  command.  And  another  point  worthy  of 
notice  is  that  the  best  element  in  these  works  is  due 
to  the  influence  of  the  Spanish  school,  which  was 
almost  exclusively  religious,  the  Inquisition  taking 
it  upon  itself  to  direct  not  only  the  general  char- 
acter, but  the  details  of  the  works  of  Art.  It  is 
said  that  it  is  to  this  that  we  must  ascribe  the 
modesty  and  decorum  of  the  vast  majority  of  the 
Spanish  pictures.  Their  great  painter,  Zurbaran, 
seems  to  have  devoted  himself  wholly  to  the  glorifi- 
cation of  asceticism. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  great  mass  of  Le- 
gends from  which  the  Christian  world  then  drew  its 
enthusiasm  and  the  painters  their  inspiration  ? 
There  are  those  to  whom  all  of  this  is  ridiculous, 
silly,  puerile,  the  proof  of  a  credulity  too  contempti- 
ble to  be  noticed.  But  here  we  must  observe  that 
the  habit  of  looking  at  the  ridiculous  side  of  things 
is  utterly  destructive  to  the  highest  mental  enjoy- 
ment. The  very  close  affinity  of  genius  with  relig- 
ion is  due  to  the  fact  that  both  are  concerned  with 
the  emotional  nature.  "  Genius,"  says  Mme.  de 
Stael  (I  quote  from  memory),  "  recognizes  its  own 
power  only  by  the  depth  of  the  emotion  excited : " 
and  if  so,  can  be  recognized  by  others  only  on  the 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  1^ 

same  principle.  Now  deep  feeling  is  altogether  in- 
consistent with  habitual  jesting.  Indeed  we  may 
gauge  not  only  the  emotions,  but  the  whole  mental 
capacity  at  once,  by  this  fondness  for  ridicule ;  and, 
when  found,  it  will  always  prove  that  capacity  to  be 
limited.  Admiration  and  faith  are  only  different 
manifestations  of  the  same  power.  Both  are  based 
upon  strong  feeling.  As  Chateaubriand  so  suc- 
cinctly says  :  "  J'ai  pleure,  et  j'ai  cru."  We  pardon 
children  and  those  who  have  never  had  a  sorrow, 
for  a  levity  of  spirit  which  in  older  and  more  expe- 
rienced persons  is  unbearable.  When  in  these 
Legends  of  the  Saints  we  find  much  that  is  touch- 
ing, charming,  beautiful,  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
passing  over  the  ideas  foreign  to  our  present  modes 
of  thought :  indeed  the  imagination  may  transmute 
these  very  ideas  so  that  much  good  may  be  obtained 
from  them.  We  are  not  asked  to  receive  these 
Legends  as  authorities  in  matters  of  fact  relating  to 
the  History  of  mankind ;  but  we  must  accept  them 
as  peculiar  evidences  of  the  faith  and  imagination 
of  the  age  in  which  they  were  composed.  In  this 
way  "fiction  vouches  for  the  genius  of  nations, 
while  history  has  nothing  to  offer  worthy  of  credit." 
It  is  only  by  the  cultivation  of  a  reverential  spirit 
that  we  can  hope  to  understand  the  great  works  of 
genius  in  Art  and  especially  in  Mediaeval  and  mod- 
ern European  Painting:  otherwise  we  see  a  great 
effect  without  any  adequate  cause. 

Passing  from  the  class  of  monks  who  were  artists 


/A- 


and  patrons  of  Art,  we  come  to  the  Schoolmen,  so 
slightly  associated  in  most  minds  with  the  monastic 
life,  that  it  seems  strange  to  speak  of  them  in  this 
connection,  In  the  subjects  of  their  speculations 
the  world  has  found  much  to  ridicule,  set  aside  and 
condemn*  But  the  difficulty  in  understanding  these 
subjects  Will  account  for  this.  The  Schoolmen  un- 
dertook to  do  what  no  class  of  men  has  ever  since 
undertaken.  They  were  to  build  up  a  Philosophy 
according  to  the  Logic  of  Aristotle  which  was  to 
exercise  practical  influence  on  the  great  questions 
of  the  day,  political  as  well  as  ecclesiastical.  The 
Science  of  Scholastics  was  a  bold  appeal  to  the  effi- 
cacy of  reason  and  intelligence  in  the  settlement  of 
all  disputes.  This  was  the  first  vindication  of  the 
power  of  the  pen,  the  might  of  spiritual  force  in  con- 
flict with  the  brute  force  which  wielded  so  gigantic 
a  despotism  in  those  days.  And  whether  we  study 
it  in  the  life  of  St.  Anselm,  who  "  withstood  "  two 
Kings  of  England  "to  the  face"  for  what  he 
believed  to  be  the  truth  ;  or  in  the  achievements  of 
Roger  Bacon  and  Albertus  Magnus,  whose  knowl- 
edge of  physics  exposed  them  to  the  charge  of 
"  magic  "  ;  or  in  the  preparation  made  by  Isidore 
of  Seville,  Bede  the  Venerable  and  Alcuin  the  hon- 
ored guide  of  Charlemagne,  for  the  subtleties  to  be 
disputed  among  those  great  thinkers,  Duns  Scotus, 
the  staunch  upholder  of  Realism  ;  Roscellinus,  the 
celebrated  founder  of  Nominalism  ;  William  of 
Champeaux,  the  successful  teacher,  who  stirred  to 


GZIVIUS  AND  RELIGlOtf. 


137 


life  the  slumbering  eloquence  of  Abelard,  the  foun- 
der of  Conceptionism,  and  in  his  turn,  the  teacher 
of  Arnaud  of  Brescia ;  Bernard  of  Clairveaux,  the 
Mystic,  subduer  and  vanquisher  of  Abelard,  and  of 
popes,  kings,  and  all  who  claimed  authority,  his 
absolutism  being  one  of  which  no  Caesar  ever 
dreamed ;  William  of  Wykeham,  the  statesman  and 
founder  of  colleges ;  Occam,  the  politician,  who  de- 
fended the  imperial  throne  against  the  papacy  and 
turned  the  tide  of  public  opinion  for  all  time; 
Thomas  Aquinas,  the  embodiment  of  the  whole 
scholastic  system,  which  attained  in  him  its  highest 
and  most  comprehensive  development,  and  whom 
Sir  James  Mackintosh  calls  "  the  moral  master  of 
Christendom  for  three  centuries " ;  Pierre  d'Ailly 
and  Jean  Gerson,  who  prepared  the  way  for  that 
great  Augustine  monk,  Luther,  whose  work  revolu- 
tionized the  world,  I  think  we  shall  find  enough,  and 
more  than  enough,  to  silence  the  gainsaying  of 
those  who  have  pronounced  this  scholastic  system 
worthless,  because  they  have  not  studied  it,  and  the 
abuse  of  those  who  have  studied  it  only  to  steal 
from  it. 

Of  all  the  countries  of  modern  Europe,  Spain  is 
that  in  whose  history  the  influence  of  religion  can 
be  most  clearly  traced.  Most  erroneous  ideas  are 
often  encountered  as  to  the  nature  of  this  influence. 
Having  shown  that  at  one  period  proofs  of  genius 
in  every  province  of  thought  abounded,  and  that  a 
subsequent  decline  of  all  this  glory  set  in  and  could 


1 3  8  S  TUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

not  be  averted,  Historians  have  then  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  Spaniards  were  a  profoundly 
religious  people,  conveying  the  impression  that  they 
became  so  after  their  works  of  genius  had  been  pro- 
duced or  during  the  process  of  their  production,  and 
stigmatizing  the  growing  influence  of  ecclesiastical 
authority,  as  the  antagonistic  force  in  a  national 
struggle  for  the  supremacy  of  genius.  This  is  just 
the  reverse  of  the  true  order  of  events  and  influ- 
ences. The  Spaniards  were  first  a  religious  people, 
then  a  great  people.  They  have  absolutely  no  works 
of  genius  except  those  inspired  by  religious  enthu- 
siasm. This  is  the  point  to  be  observed  in  their 
History  and  there  is  no  other.  When  their  religious 
enthusiasm  died  out,  then  their  glory  as  a  nation 
departed.  Is  it  literary  excellence  that  we  seek  ? 
We  can  find  no  names  to  rival  those  of  the  idolized 
Lope  de  Vega  and  the  noble  Calderon,  both  priests 
and  unquestioning  believers  in  the  national  creed. 
Indeed  Calderon,  especially,  reflects  that  serenity 
of  spirit,  that  perfect  equipoise  of  emotions  which 
are  only  visible  in  Literature  when  the  writer's  faith 
is  the  expression  of  the  nation's  faith.  "As  in 
water  face  answereth  to  face,  so  the  heart  of  man  to 
man."  When  in  the  awful  conflict  between  Justina 
and  the  Daemon,  in  "  El  Magico  Prodigioso "  we 
find  such  noble  utterances  of  belief  as  fall  from  the 
lips  of  the  defenceless  girl,  we  cannot  wonder  at  the 
value  set  upon  this  Literature.  The  dialogue  should 
find  a  place  in  every  memory  : 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION. 


Damon.     I  am  one 

Called  by  the  thought  which  tyrannizes  thee 
From  his  eternal  dwelling:   who-this  day 
Is  pledged  to  bear  thee  unto  Cyprian. 

Justina.     So  shall  thy  promise  fail.     This  agony 
Of  passion  Which  afflicts  my  heart  and  soul 
May  sweep  imagination  in  its  storm  : 
The  will  is  firm. 

Damon.     Already  half  is  done 
In  the  imagination  of  an  act. 
The  sin  incurred,  the  pleasure  then  remains  : 
Let  not  the  will  stop  half-way  on  the  road. 

Justina.     I  will  not  be  discouraged,  nor  despair, 
Although  I  thought  it,  and  although  'tis  true 
That  thought  is  but  a  prelude  to  the  deed  : 
Thought  is  not  in  my  power,  but  action  is  : 
I  will  not  move  my  foot  to  follow  thee. 

[SHELLEY'S  Translation. 

Seldom  in  all  Literature  is  sophistry  met  and  van- 
quished with  such  simplicity,  and  when  the  climax 
of  this  faith  finds  expression  in  the  simple  words  : 
"  My  defense  consists  in  God,"  we  feel  that  this  is 
also  the  climax  of  literary  Art.  As  every  one  knows, 
it  was  under  the  influence  of  strong  religious  enthu- 
siasm that  the  Italian,  Columbus,  conceived  the 
mighty  enterprise  of  discovering  a  new  world.  But 
it  is  not  with  Italy  that  we  associate  the  glory  of 
that  enterprise.  Columbus  is  immortalized  through 
Spain's  faith  and  Spain's  assistance.  The  gracious 
and  beautiful  Isabella  was  inspired  with  a  zeal 
which  made  men  tremble.  Not  only  did  she  grant 
Columbus  the  desired  aid  :  it  is  to  her  personal 


140  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

fluence  and  the  influence  of  the  religion  which  she 
promoted  by  every  means  in  her  power  that  we 
must  ascribe  the  conquests  of  Peru  and  Mexico; 
and,  without  stopping  to  discuss  the  results  of  these 
conquests,  we  are  forced  to  admit  that  administra- 
tive ability  was  nobly  illustrated  in  the  intrepid 
Pedro  de  la  Gasca  and  military  genius  seldom 
eclipsed  in  the  dauntless  Hernando  Cortez,  both  of 
whom  labored  solely  for  the  triumph  of  the  Cross. 

In  visiting  Spain  to-day  and  asking  to  be  directed 
to  her  greatest  works  of  Art,  we  are  still  confronted 
with  the  fruits  of  this  faith  during  the  one  illus- 
trious period.  I  have  referred  to  the  Spanish 
School  of  Painting.  The  devotional  element  in 
Painting  attains  such  perfection  in  no  other  land. 
The  very  names  of  Murillo,  Roelas,  Zurbaran, 
Vincent  de  Juanes,  Herera,  Castillo,  Valdes,  Velas- 
quez, Ribera  and  Carducho  bring  to  mind  the 
sacred  themes  so  marvelously  illustrated  by  their 
genius.  The  glorious  Cathedrals  of  Seville,  Burgos, 
Pampeluna,  Toledo  and  Barcelona  (the  names  of 
whose  architects,  after  the  fashion  of  the  times, 
have  long  been  cast  into  oblivion)  are  among  the 
wonders  of  the  world,  and  that  imagination  is  dead 
indeed  which  is  not  kindled  by  the  mere  mention  of 
the  immortal  trophies  offered  it  in  this  guise. 

Let  any  one  ask  himself  why  a  school,  a  hospital 
or  a  private  dwelling  has  never  elicited  the  same 
degree  of  talent  as  a  temple  of  worship,  and  the 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  l^l 

connection  between  architectural  genius  and  reli- 
gion will  soon  become  apparent. 

In  Italy  and  France  w"e  find  pictures  by  the 
national  artists  characterized  by  a  curious  anomaly. 
Sacred  personages,  Saints  and,  sometimes,  Angels 
there  appear  in  the  gorgeous  court  costumes  of  the 
Sixteenth  Century.  This  is,  at  first  sight,  startling, 
almost  shocking.  But  one  soon  learns  to  view  it  as 
one  of  the  most  fascinating,  enthralling  elements  in 
that  superb  Art.  Nothing  could  more  powerfully 
witness  to  the  reality  of  the  world's  faith  and  feel- 
ing. If  the  various  narratives  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment had  not  been  thus  represented  in  the  guise  of 
the  manners  and  customs  then  prevailing,  we  would 
certainly  never  believe  that  such  a  thing  was  possi- 
ble :  that  they  are  thus  represented  with  a  rever- 
ence which  does  not  fall  short  of  that  expressed  in 
purely  devotional  works  must  strike  every  one  who 
is  able  to  think  about  it  as  an  unequaled  proof  of 
firm  faith  and  religious  fervor  both  in  the  painter 
and  the  public  of  that  age. 

In  the  great  revival  of  Art  for  Art's  sake  which 
ushered  in  the  dawn  of  Modern  History,  men 
bound  by  no  vows  and  dependent  upon  no  eccle- 
siastical system — that  is,  worldly  men,  actuated  by 
the  impulse  of  genius  alone,  as  Michael  Angelo, 
Raphael,  Correggio,  Titian,  Tintoretto,  Paul  Vero- 
nese and  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  turned  to  the  themes 
of  the  Evangelists  as  the  needle  turns  to  the  pole. 
Need  we,  can  we,  ask  the  meaning  of  this  noble 


142 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


consecration  ?  The  significance,  the  completeness, 
the  satisfying  grandeur  of  all  mental  and  moral 
beauty  is  found  in  the  picture  of 

"  The  shuddering,  bleeding,  thirsting,  dying  God, 
The  Man  of  Sorrows,  scourged  and  bruised  and  torn, 
Suffering  to  save." 

Surely  genius  has  never  shone  with  more  resplen- 
dent lustre,  never  scaled  the  empyrean  of  our  nat- 
ure with  more  god-like  energy  than  in  the  bliss,  the 
universal  joy  it  has  created  in  Music.  The  Bible 
has  been  the  fount  of  inspiration  to  all  who  have 
produced  immortal  melodies.  Haydn's  "  Crea- 
tion," Handel's  "  Messiah,"  Mendelssohn's  "  Elijah  " 
and  Mozart's  glorious  "  Masses "  are  the  works 
of  souls  that  have  been  steeped  in  heavenly 
learning.  Beethoven's  "  Mount  of  Olives,"  Bach's 
"Passion  Music,"  Rossini's  "  Statat  Mater "  and 
"  Moses  in  Egypt," — the  grandest  compositions  of 
all  time,  and  the  only  music  all  lovers  of  the  glo- 
rious Art  feel  convinced  can  never  perish — show 
that  religion  alone  is  able  to  call  forth  the  sub- 
limest  efforts  of  this  grandest  proof  of  human  great- 
ness. This  is  the  opinion  of  musicians,  not  of 
moralists.  Even  the  lover  of  the  petty  and  immoral 
Opera  still  has  the  grace  to  blush  for  his  taste. 

Finally,  when  we  find  that  the  "  Divine  Comedy," 
the  "  Jerusalem  Delivered,"  and  the  "  Paradise 
Lost,"  the  three  greatest  poems  that  the  world  has 
produced  in  the  course  of  nearly  three  thousand 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  j^ 

years,  and  the  only  epic  poems  produced  at  all 
since  the  establishment  of  Christianity,  are  based 
entirely  upon  revealed  religion  and  the  teachings  of 
the  Church, -the  idea  that  not  only  is  there  no  re- 
pulsion, but  that  there  is  positive  affinity  between 
genius  and  religion  is  forced  upon  us.  Is  it  not 
evident  that  religion  is  the  pivot  of  the  human 
mind  ?  The  greater  the  genius  the  more  impossible 
is  it  for  man  to  forget  that  his  "  origin  and  destiny 
are  higher  than  the  heavens."  The  conclusion  of 
the  highest  criticism  is  that  all  truly  creative  poetry 
must  proceed  from  the  inward  life  of  a  people  and 
from  religion,  the  root  of  that  life  ;  and  that  this 
alone  explains  the  failure  of  Tragedy  among  the 
Romans  and  the  French.  They  sought  to  give  ex- 
pression to  a  foreign  religion  in  imitating  Greek 
Tragedy ;  hence  the  fettering  of  all  spontaneous 
feeling  and  the  lamentable  failure  to  enlarge  the 
sphere  of  human  consciousness. 

But  while  many  will  agree  that  the  general  con- 
clusions we  have  reached  are  too  significant  to  be 
put  down  under  the  head  of  "  coincidences,"  "  ad- 
ventitious and  curious  phenomena,"  etc.,  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  such  an  argument  can  be  sustained 
when  applied  to  individual  character.  It  seems 
that  in  some  notable  instances  genius  has  been  the 
cause  of  moral  and  religious  shipwreck. 

Let  us  widen  our  horizon.  That  genius  should  be 
the  means  of  making  men  religious  would  be  simply 
monstrous.  This,  indeed,  would  constitute  a  form 


144  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

of  election  which  the  most  zealous  Calvinist  would 
denounce.  It  is  only  that  as  every  advantage  creates 
an  additional  responsibility,  when  gifted  men  are 
false  to  their  responsibility,  an  enlarged  conscious- 
ness provokes  a  greater  outcry.  Genius  is  in  itself 
an  advantage,  but  the  greatest  advantages  are  always 
the  greatest  tests.  Great  religious  advantages  have 
as  frequently  proved  the  death-blow  to  the  religion 
of  individuals  as  those  of  any  other  description. 
When  these  tests  are  applied,  and  men  are  found 
wanting,  the  deplorable  point  is  not  that  they  have 
fallen  through  the  lack,  but  in  spite  of  the  abun- 
dance, of  ability.  To  distinguish  the  occasion  from 
the  cause  is  a  lesson  that  we  cannot  study  too  often. 
Christianity  has  been  the  occasion  of  the  worst  per- 
secutions the  world  has  known.  So  has  genius  been 
the  occasion  of  ruined  lives.  But  the  cause  of  both 
lies  in  that  desperate  wickedness  of  the  heart,  not  the 
least  feature  of  which  is  the  calling  of  good,  evil, 
and  of  evil,  good. 

For  my  own  part,  I  should  not  hesitate  to  assert 
that  the  men  of  greatest  genius  have  been  the  men 
of  most  remarkable  piety.  The  world  always  will 
go  on  expecting  and  demanding  everything  of  one 
person.  From  the  experience  of  the  past,  it  is  very 
evident  that  no  one  is  to  have  this  monopoly.  Still, 
it  is  hard  to  produce  greater  names  than  those  of 
Pascal,  Gerson,  Dante,  Milton  and  Newton.  For 
ordinary  people  to  palliate  their  own  shortcomings 
with  the  idea  that  the  greater  the  mind  the  greater 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION,  j^ 

will  be  the  disdain  for  religion  is  certainly  an  indi- 
cation of  more  than  ordinary  weakness. 

But  my  reader  may  say  rWhat  of  Shakespeare  '  ? 

No  one  contends  that  all  the  benefit  man  can 
confer  on  his  fellows  is  to  be  confined  to  the  avowed 
teachings  of  the  moralist.  And  yet,  Shakespeare  is 
a  moralist  of  the  highest  order.  It  was  he  who  first 
dared  to  break  away  from  the  dramatic  unities  that 
he  might  make  character  preponderate  over  action, 
time,  and  place.  Not  in  a  single  instance  has  he 
"clothed  crime  and  want  of  principle  with  a  false 
show  of  greatness  of  soul ;  "  In  "  Macbeth  " — "  the 
most  sublime  and  impressive  drama  which  the  world 
has  ever  beheld  " — the  "  as  ye  sow,  so  shall  ye  reap  " 
sounds  as  with  trumpet-blast.  There  is  scarcely  a 
Play  in  which  human  responsibility  and  account- 
ability are  not  made  prominent.  Especially  in 
"  Hamlet  "  do  we  find  the  lesson  that  life  is  too  short 
to  waste  in  speculation  and  inaction.  Critics  now 
think  that  after  the  composition  of  the  five  great 
Tragedies — works  of  an  almost  fearful  gloom — there 
came  a  time  of  calm  after  storms,  when  he  who 
doubtless  had  known  more  than  life's  ordinary 
sorrows  could  say  (as  he  actually  writes  in  his  last 
work)  : 

"  I  know  myself  now,  and  I  feel  within  me 
A  peace  above  all  earthly  dignities, 
A  still  and  quiet  conscience." 

And   graver   question    yet,    what   of    that   great 
10 


146  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

genius  who  has  just  passed  from  us,  universally 
acknowledged  incomparable  among  the  writers  of 
our  century  ?  Here,  again,  while  there  is  no  didactic 
morality,  no  works  ever  appealed  more  powerfully 
to  the  moral  nature  than  do  George  Eliot's.  They 
are  veritable  tests,  scrutinizing  the  heart  with  their 
terrible  introspection,  invigorating  to  the  pure,  and 
full  of  despair  to  the  hopeless.  In  reading  the 
"  Life  "  that  has  been  given  to  the  public,  we  find 
it  singular  that  not  a  vestige  of  the  doubt  and  faith- 
lessness which  disgraced  it  can  be  detected  in  the 
author's  works.  We  cannot  put  this  down  solely  to 
the  fact  that  they  were  written  to  be  read,  and  could 
find  no  readers  had  they  reflected  the  author's  true 
thoughts  and  feelings.  Rather  must  we  believe 
that  there  was  such  a  deep  sense  of  the  beauty  and 
completeness  of  the  Christian  religion,  that  in  the 
conception  and  execution  of  a  work  of  Art  this 
mighty  genius  could  find  no  other  inspiration.  Self- 
deceived  as  to  the  record  of  her  own  sentiments 
she  may  have  been  ;  but  as  to  those  of  her  heroes 
and  heroines,  never  ! 

This  ideal  haunts  the  genius  even  when  the  char- 
acter is  feeble.  Do  men  wail  as  did  Byron,  or 
sneer  with  the  bitterness  of  Voltaire,  or  weep  out- 
right as  Rousseau,  or  sigh  as  did  Shelley,  unless 
there  is  something  to  wail  or  to  sneer  about  ?  Total 
silence  alone  would  convince  us  of  indifference  in 
the  matter  of  religion;  in  the  case  of  the  poet, 
especially,  the  greater  the  protest,  the  profounder 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION. 


'47 


the  feeling  on  the  subject.  Elizabeth  Barrett 
Browning,  Alexandre  Vjnet,  Pressense,  Racine,  W. 
Von  Schlegel,  Edmund  Spencer,  Calderon  and 
Wordsworth,  show  us  genius  unsullied  by  the  pro- 
tests of  moral  weakness. 

There  is,  however,  a  gross  injustice  in  making  a 
question  of  this  kind  turn  upon  individual  character. 
Except  in  the  case  of  a  man's  open  avowal  of  in- 
fidelity, we  have  no  right  to  judge  of  the  amount 
of  religion  anyone  possesses.  Surely  we  dare  not 
judge  by  the  actual,  outward  life.  That  belief  in 
circumstances  which  would  ruin  our  own  life  is  a 
very  stronghold  of  hope  as  to  the  lives  of  others. 
A  preeminently  interesting  book  might  be  written 
on  the  incidents  in  life  which  account  for  infidelity. 
No  one  can  read  the  lives  of  Hume,  Gibbon,  Mill, 
Voltaire,  Rousseau  and  Shelley,  and  not  spurn  the 
heartless  verdict  of  the  world,  while  he  rejoices  that 
they  are  to  be  judged  by  One  who  "seeth  not  as 
man  seeth."  To  many  persons  it  is  impossible  to 
separate  the  place  occupied  in  history  from  the  pri- 
vate'and  totally  unknown  inner  life  of  a  man.  But 
we  cannot  understand  the  true  significance  of  liv- 
ing until  we  see  that  the  one  is  to  be  judged  with- 
out any,  the  other  in  full  view  of  all,  extenuating 
circumstances.  It  is  right  that  the  judgment  of  all 
time  should  be  irrespective  of  the  extenuations,  but 
it  is  only  fair  in  considering  such  a  question  as  the 
present  one  to  remember  that  there  is  a  veil  that 


148  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

hides  the  heart's  holy  of  holies  from  all  save  the 
chosen  few  of  rare  intuitive  perception. 

It  is  believed  by  some  that  immorality  and  irre- 
ligion  are  the  special  privileges  of  genius,  and  that 
the  world  smiles  on  that  type  of  character  in  a  celeb- 
rity which  it  would  hoot  at  in  a  nonentity.  That 
this  has  been  done  cannot  be  denied.  But  by 
whom  ?  By  that  large  class  who  certainly  have  not 
done  anything  to  distinguish  themselves — too  weak 
mentally  to  carry  through  a  crime  successfully,  too 
weak  morally  to  be  aware  of  their  vacuity. 

Again,  there  are  those  who  like  to  bring  forward 
proofs  of  the  weaknesses,  eccentricities,  infirmities, 
which  occasionally  accompany  the  possession  of 
genius.  Oh,  worse  than  wasted  is  the  time  spent  in 
reading,  or  writing,  or  thinking  about  such  topics  as 
"the  vanity  and  insanity  of  genius!"  What  we 
want,  as  Victor  Hugo  says,  is  to  be  filled  with  the 
folly  of  admiration.  The  starting  point  of  educa- 
tion is  admiration.  Admire,  and  you  will  begin  to 
think,  to  feel,  to  enjoy,  to  live.  When  the  skeptic 
asks,  "  Is  life  worth  living  ?  "  it  creates  no  comment, 
for  it  seems  but  the  proper  thing  for  him  to  ask. 
If  there  is  no  end  in  view,  why  be  interested  in  any 
means?  To  one  who  believes,  "education  in  its 
widest  sense — the  development  of  spirit,  the  deep- 
ening of  consciousness,  the  salvation  of  the  soul — 
is  the  end  to  which  all  else  in  life  is  but  means."  It 
is  important,  then  to  garner  every  grand  and  beau- 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION. 


tiful  thought  that  is  scattered  broadcast  upon  the 
world. 

The  genius  that  is  artistic  and  seemingly  the  re- 
sult of  inspiration  is  not  the  only  form  in  which 
rare  intellectual  power  displays  itself.  That  massive 
breadth  of  mind  which  enables  its  possessor  to 
grapple  with  the  very  construction  of  the  mind  it- 
self, has,  perhaps,  conferred  more  real  benefit  upon 
mankind  than  the  more  aesthetic  type.  Now,  the 
greatest  metaphysicians  the  world  has  known 
have  worked  directly  in  the  interests  of  religion. 
Descartes,  Leibnitz,  Butler,  Hamilton,  Edwards, 
Bledsoe,  and  McCosh  have  been  as  eloquent  de- 
fenders of  Christianity  as  they  remain  unrivaled 
champions  in  Philosophy. 

The  savage  tribes  which  still  exist  in  Africa  and 
in  North  and  South  America  show  us  the  condition 
of  the  human  mind  when  abandoned  to  the  influ- 
ences of  Nature.  It  would  seem,  then,  that  the 
mere  tradition  of  Divine  revelation  is  not  enough  to 
excite  mental  activity,  for  all  of  these  tribes  have 
that.  There  must  be  some  fragment  of  clearly 
defined  truth  upon  which  genius  can  expatiate  as 
authoritatively  in  its  way  as  religion.  This,  then, 
gives  its  value  to  genius,  and  forever  banishes  the 
idea  that  it  consists  in  self-illumination  or  exists  for 
merely  worldly  purposes.  If  in  a  review  of  Gen- 
eral History  we  carefully  trace  the  causes  and 
effects  of  man's  greatest  efforts,  we  shall  find  that 
they  are  put  forth  only  under  the  stimulus  of  relig- 


I  50  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ions  belief,  that  is,  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the 
soul  and  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments, 
and  this  is  the  explanation  of  the  unparalleled  ac- 
tivity displayed  under  the  influence  of  the  Christian 
religion,  no  other  religion  having  attempted  to 
speak  with  the  same  authority  on  these  subjects. 
Who  with  the  slightest  knowledge  of  the  past  can 
tolerate  such  expressions  as  the  "  six  great  religions 
of  the  world,"  "  the  religion  that  is  to  supersede 
Christianity,"  etc.  ?  Such  writers  presuppose  an 
immense  amount  of  ignorance  in  their  readers. 
Was  it  by  chance  that  Dante,  Tasso  and  Milton 
chose  religious  themes  for  the  expression  of  tower- 
ing genius  ?  The  very  genius,  itself,  is  the  product 
of  Christianity.  If  the  fruits  of  deism  are  a  Dar- 
win, a  Huxley,  and  a  Spencer,  this  is  all  very  well 
and  good,  but  the  humblest  Christian  need  not  be 
afraid  to  challenge  the  world  to  choose  between  these 
trios.  As  Tacitus  describes  Rome  as  "  the  city 
into  which  flow  all  things  that  are  vile  and  abomi- 
nable," so  it  would  almost  seem  that  if  there  be  any 
praise  or  any  virtue,  it  has  flowed  into  the  service 
of  the  Christian  Church.  Without  have  been  the 
sorcerers,  the  false  and  the  defiled,  but  as  in  the  heav- 
enly, so  in  the  earthly,  Jerusalem,  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  i.e.,  the  truly  regal  ones — those  crowned 
above  their  fellows — have  already  brought  their 
gifts,  their  glory  and  honor  unto  Him  who  in  the 
first  place  gave  them. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  Are  not  scientists  to  be  ac- 


GENIUS  AND  RELIGION.  j  ^  £ 

counted  men  of  genius  ?  By  all  means.  I  should 
be  the  last  to  forget  Kepler,  Newton,  Laplace, 
Bacon,  Herschell,  Davy'  Maury,  and  many  others 
who  have  been  illustrious  Christian  scientists.  But 
the  attitude  of  scientists  towards  religion  is  neces- 
sarily peculiar,  for  the  study  of  the  sciences  is  a 
study  of  second  causes,  and  leads  directly  away 
from  the  contemplation  of  the  First  Great  Cause. 
The  scientific  mind  is  one  of  discovery  ;  the  poetic, 
imaginative,  religious  mind  one  of  invention. 

As  religion  has  furnished  genius  with  its  subject 
matter  through  the  ages,  so  is  genius  now  the  faith- 
ful ally  of  religion. 

Genius  annihilates  all  theories  of  evolution, 
heredity,  the  reign  of  law,  philosophical  necessity, 
etc.,  proving,  indisputably,  not  only  that  there  is  a 
Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  but  that  there  is  a 
Providential  Ruler  who  endows  when  and  where  He 
pleases,  gives  man  powers  which  no  human  striving 
ever  gives  him,  and  has  so  ordered  the  action  of 
those  powers  that  they  have  been  used  in  His  ser- 
vice and  redound  to  His  glory. 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 

WHILE  many  have  noted  and  gloried  in  the  very 
remarkable  progress  that  has  been  made  in  the 
study  of  Physical  Science  in  our  day,  few,  I  think, 
have  turned  their  attention  to  the  still  more  strik- 
ing fact  that  in  no  age  of  the  world's  history  has 
the  study  of  Moral  Science  made  such  rapid  strides, 
or  ruled  with  such  undisputed  sway  as  in  this  same 
age.  In  order  to  realize  this  we  have  only  to 
endeavor  to  understand  the  "  general  ideas  "  which 
have  from  time  to  time  dominated  mankind,  and 
especially  those  which  have  brought  about  our  pres- 
ent state  of  civilization. 

There  never  has  been  a  time  since  men  have 
lived  together  in  the  Social  State  in  which  an  in- 
stinctive love  of  the  Beautiful  has  not  manifested 
itself — in  a  form,  of  course,  in  harmony  with  the 
understanding  of  the  age.  History  falsely  so  called 
is,  indeed,  the  record  of  such  a  din  of  strife,  con- 
quest, revelry,  and  passion,  that  we  are  apt  to  forget 
the  nobler  forces  at  work  and  their  supremely  impor- 
tant bearings  on  human  happiness.  But  thanks  to 
the  imperishable  Art-fragments  of  many  countries, 
we  have  indisputable  proof  that  in  all  times  and  in 
152 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY.  l^ 

all  places  man  aspires  to  something  more  than  ani- 
mal gratification  and  sensual  luxury.  His  love  of 
the  Beautiful  rescues  him  from  the  condition  of  a 
brute. 

As  an  abstract  theory,  Art-culture,  of  all  attain- 
ments,  would  seem  to  be  the  last  to  be  expected 
from  early  civilizations.  Yet  as  an  actual  fact  we 
find  the  Arts  born  at  the  very  dawn  of  History  : 
and,  compared  with  other  evidences  of  mental 
power,  there  is  nothing  which  will  at  all  vie  with 
that  which  has  come  down  to  us  through  the  pas- 
sion for  the  Beautiful.  In  other  departments,  we 
see  the  old  continually  superseded  by  the  new.  In 
this  we  find  the  new  continually  overshadowed  by 
the  old. 

Philosophers  tell  us  of  two  intuitions  unlike  all 
others  and  to  be  placed  in  the  first  rank  as  regards 
the  welfare  of  the  race — the  love  of  the  Beautiful 
and  the  love  of  the  Right  But  among  the  nations 
of  antiquity  and  among  all  heathen  nations  of  every 
age,  how  feeble  is  that  which  is  called  the  strength 
of  the  latter !  Agonies  of  conscience,  bodily  mutila- 
tion, martyrdom,  heroism  itself — all  scarcely  avail 
to  advance  a  people  one  step  in  the  scale  of  pure 
morality. 

And  now  the  question  will  not  but  present  itself  : 
Why  was  the  power  of  the  one  intuition  so  much 
greater  than  that  of  the  other  ?  Why  does  the  idea 
of  the  Beautiful  precede  that  of  the  Right  ?  Surely 


154  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

so  momentous  a  permission  cannot  have  been  with- 
out design. 

That  in  all  ages  men  recognize  the  natural  sov- 
ereignty of  the  gifted  few  and,  as  it  were,  themselves 
authorize  the  expression  of  the  common  taste  by 
those  few,  are  principles  bound  up  with  the  very  ex- 
istence of  society.  Very  early  in  the  history  of 
each  nation  is  its  national  genius  recognized,  and 
nothing  more  clearly  distinguishes  one  nation  from 
another  than  the  type  of  Art  in  which  that  genius 
"  bodies  forth  the  forms  of  things  unknown."  Of 
course-  not  all  the  forms  in  which  genius  manifests 
its  power  come  under  the  head  of  Art.  But  this 
concession  is  considerably  modified  by  the  fact  that 
this  is  ever  its  noblest  province,  and  again  by  the 
fact  that  other  embodiments  of  this  power  gain  in 
estimation  by  their  Art-affinity.  But  while  military, 
mechanical  and  inventive  genius  have  to  do  with 
the  keenest  intellectual  perception  and  the  aesthetic 
dicta  of  order,  proportion,  symmetry  and  law,  they  do 
nor  express  the  same  power  either  in  scope  or  pur- 
pose ;  for  the  reason  that  the  less  the  Beautiful  has 
in  common  with  the  Useful,  the  more  decidedly  do 
we  estimate  it  as  the  Beautiful  per  se.  Were  the 
Beautiful  subservient  to  the  Useful  and  under  this 
head  to  the  Right,  we  feel  that  it  would  at  once 
lose  its  distinctive  character,  and  cease,  in  fact,  to 
be. 

It  is  certainly  a  curious  and  striking  fact  that  in 
all  countries   and    in  all   cases,  man's  love  of  the 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


155 


Beautiful  leads  him  to  the  contemplation  of  the 
Supernatural,  the  Divine, — that  Immaterial  Essence 
of  which  Beauty  is- vaguely  felt  to  be  in  some  way 
a  reflection.  The  Art  world  is  of  itself  a  proof  that 
man  is  a  spiritual  being.  The  Art  of  Egypt,  of 
Babylonia,  of  Greece,  of  Europe  is  in  every  instance 
the  expression  of  national  Religious  belief.  Archae- 
ologists say  that  not  a  single  specimen  of  Egyptian 
Domestic  Architecture  has  withstood  the  test  of 
time,  meaning  that  no  skill  or  taste  was  ever  lav- 
ished on  this  branch  of  art,  for  of  course  this  is  the 
only  reasonable  explanation  of  the  hiatus.  It  was 
not  Hieratic  despotism  triat  dictated  the  Columns  of 
Karnack  or  the  Obelisks  of  Luxor.  Nor  was  it  Aris- 
tocratic despotism  which  led  to  the  erection  of 
magnificent  Palaces  rather  than  Temples  in  Assyria. 
The  student  of  Ancient  History  knows  well  that 
the  ideas  of  priest  and  king  were  in  early  times  in- 
separably bound  together,  and  that  both  emanated 
from  the  universally  confessed  need  of  an  Interces- 
sor and  a  Ruler,  the  one  being  simply  a  modifica- 
tion of  the  other  according  to  the  urgency  of  the 
need  that  was  uppermost.  The  beautiful  Obelisks 
of  Egypt  are  objects  of  as  much  admiration  to  us* 
as  to  the  ancient  Egyptians,  because  the  thought 
of  which  this  exquisite  design  is  but  the  outward 
form,  has  to  do  with  the  very  laws  of  our  existence 

*  Rome,  Paris,  London,  and  New  York  vie  with  each  other 
as  vi lies  de  luxe  in  the  possession  of  these  treasures. 


156  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

— the  laws  of  all  intellectual  life.  The  Art  of  Egypt 
and  Assyria  is  not  any  more  symbolic  than  that  of 
Greece  and  Rome.*  It  may  not  be  classic  in  the 
sense  that  idea  and  form  reach  a  perfect  equipoise, 
but  it  is  expressive  of  ideas  which  are  clearly  de- 
fined and  have  been  clearly  understood  by  all  suc- 
ceeding generations.  The  question  as  to  whether 
the  classic  in  Art  is  always  most  pleasing  to  the 
human  mind  is  still  largely  open  to  discussion,  for 
reasons  inherent  in  the  very  nature  of  all  Art-theo- 
ries, a  subject  which  is  brought  into  great  promi- 
nence in  the  study  of  the  European  Renaissance. 
Architecture  was  not  the  chosen  Art  of  the  Egyp- 
tians because  they  had  dim,  adumbrated  ideas  to 
express :  nor  because  it  is,  compared  with  later 
Arts,  as  the  simple  to  the  complex,  the  homogene- 
ous to  the  heterogeneous.  There  is  no  infantile 
simplicity  about  Architecture  and  no  apology  to 
be  made  for  its  weakness.  M.  Duruy  calls  it  the 
Art  par  excellence. 

Only  in  a  single  instance — that  of  Sculpture — 
did  the  Egyptians  submit  themselves  unreservedly 
to  Priestly  dictation,  and  all  are  agreed  that  this  is 
the  sole  cause  of  imperfection  and  lack  of  progress 
in  this  branch  of  Art.  But  why  should  the  priests 
have  insisted  upon  the  stationary  and  immature  in 

*The  comparison  is,  of  course,  between  the  representative 
Arts  :  i.e.y  the  Architecture  of  Egypt  and  the  Sculpture  of 
Greece ;  the  Bas-reliefs  of  Assyria  and  the  Architecture  of 
Rome. 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


157 


Sculpture  rather  than  in  Architecture  ?  Is  it  not 
manifestly  because  they,  being  the  directors  of  the 
Nation,  and  mefi  of  genius  themselves,  saw  that  this 
was  not  in  accordance  with  the  Egyptian  National 
genius  ?  Critics  agree  that  perfection  of  execution 
might  have  been  attained.  Have  any  told  us  of 
the  special  ideas  to  be  set  forth  in  this  way  by  this 
peculiar  people  ?  And  has  mechanical  dexterity 
anything  to  do  with  the  vital  principles  of  Art- 
expression  ?  The  same  principle  which  explains 
the  grandeur  of  their  Architecture  explains  the 
weakness  of  their  Sculpture.  There  were  ideas  to 
be  set  forth — of  Eternity,  Immortality,  Rest,  Re- 
pose :  ideas  of  God-like  strength,  of  vastness,  the 
awful,  the  sublime — of  the  awe-inspiring  power  of 
magnitude;  in  short,  there  was  spiritual  aspiration 
on  a  colossal  scale,  and  not  only  were  those  leaders 
of  the  Nation  wise  in  directing  the  flow  of  such 
ideas  into  appropriate  channels,  but  we  may  safely 
believe  all  the  true  artists  of  the  age  led  the  way  in 
this  direction  and  were  fortunate  in  securing  the 
sanction  of  the  great  hierophants. 

This  is  no  overestimation  of  Egyptian  Art.  There 
is  a  nctivetf  about  all  great  Art,  an  unconsciousness 
in  all  true  ge.nius,  and  of  course  each  succeeding 
generation  may  impute  new  motives  to  the  past. 
But  the  Art  of  one  generation  could  not  be  the  de- 
Irght  of  another  (not  to  hint  at  those  most  remote 
from  it)  were  it  not  a  principle  in  the  creation  of 
the  Beautiful,  that  more  meaning  can  be  drawn  out 


158 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


of  such  a  work  than  its  author  was  aware  of  putting 
into  it.  But  when  much  is  drawn  out,  then  we 
cannot  be  mistaken  in  believing  that  something 
was  put  in.  Of  course,  in  judging  the  Arts  of  dif- 
ferent countries,  we  ought  never  to  leave  out  of 
consideration  the  merit  due  to  those  coming  first  in 
the  order  of  time.  No  possible  improvement  upon 
an  original  conception  can  rival,  much  less  eclipse, 
the  glory  due  to  the  original  conception.  If  it  be 
said  we  cannot  trace  any  continuity  of  influence  here, 
still  more  clearly  is  it  evident  that  Chronology  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  strength  of  man's  native 
intuitions. 

Even  in  the  subordinate  Arts  which  (here,  as  in  all 
Art-epochs)  cluster  around  the  one  great  national 
expression,  we  find  ideas  of  grandeur,  majesty  and 
dignity.  In  the  winged,  human-headed  Bulls  and 
Lions  of  Assyria  and  Egypt  we  are  startled  to  see 
that  triune  union  of  the  spiritual,  the  intellectual  and 
the  animal  which  is  ever  the  same  mystery  to  man 
in  all  ages. 

In  what  almost  haughty  grandeur  do  the  Egypt- 
ians tower  above  all  the  nations  of  antiquity  in  their 
solemn  and  ceaseless  contemplation  of  Death  and 
the  Life  Beyond !  How  inflexible  is  their  resolve 
as  a  people  to  make  the  dread  spectre  a  daily  real- 
ization I  In  their  worship  of  the  mysterious  vital 
spark,  acknowledged  to  be  as  incomprehensibly  in 
animal  as  in  human  existence,  in  a  noble  veneration 
for  life  in  its  lowest  forms,  and,  above  all,  in  their 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


159 


thrice  emphatically  proclaimed  conviction  not  only 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  but  of  that  which  yet 
shakes  and  thrills  the  spirit  of  man  to  its  inmost 
depths — the  resurrection  of  the  body — we  feel  that 
they  have  indeed  scaled  glorious  heights  in  spiritual 
and  intellectual  attainments,  and  herein  find  a  worthy 
basis  for  their  noble  Art.  For  most  certainly  with- 
out these  ideas  we  should  never  have  had  the  Pyra- 
mids, the  Obelisks,  the  Temples,  or  the  Sculptures. 
When  we  turn  to  Assyrian  History  and  Art,  we 
find  few  great  and  spiritual  ideas,  and  few  great  and 
enduring  masterpieces.  No  one  seems  to  have 
pointed  out  the  connection.  Critics  find  little  to  in- 
terest in  Assyrian  Architecture  and  try  to  hurry  over 
it.  Not  being  in  search  of  any  profound  religious 
conceptions  upon  which  to  found  the  Art,  they  can- 
not explain  why  it  is  that  they  see  nothing  in  it  to 
detain  their  attention.  "Muscular  strength  and 
power  of  an  intensely  earthly  and  human  nature"  is 
all  that  can  be  rightly  divined  in  it.  It  is  avowedly 
interesting  only  as  affording  the  genesis  of  Hellenic 
Art  or  in  the  guise  of  Archaeology  and  Antiquarian 
research. 

•  Many  writers  are,  in  fact,  inclined  to  waive  this 
question  of  Assyrian  Art  altogether,  and  emphasize 
the  fact  that  the  Chaldean  genius  found  expression 
in  Science  rather  than  Art — the  Chaldeans  having 
been  the  earliest  students  of  that  noblest  of  Sciences, 
Astronomy,  although  even  this  found  an  affinity  with 
the  prevailing  culture  of  those  early  times  in  that 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


it  was  made  immediately  subservient  to  Religious 
Belief.  There  is  something  truly  pathetic  in  the 
debasement  of  Astronomy  into  Astrology  —  that  proof 
of  feeble  faith  and  sickening  fear,  compelling  a 
cringing  subservience  to  those  who  could  read  the 
horoscope  and  who  seemed  to  hold  destiny  itself  in 
their  power  ;  identical  with  the  Greek  dependence 
upon  legend,  the  mythical  epopee  and  the  Oracular 
responses  ;  yet  what  a  testimony  to  the  recognized 
need  of  some  positive  teaching  in  religion  ! 

But  the  Chaldeans  and  Assyrians  are  not  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Oriental  genius.  Its  true  value 
can  only  be  gauged  in  a  study  of  certain  wide-spread 
and  long-enduring  ethical  influences.  When  Egypt 
appears  in  History  it  is  already  a  mighty  nation,  all 
connection  with  the  earliest  separation  of  the  human 
family  being  purely  conjectural.  But  it  is  not  so 
with  the  great  peoples  clustering  around  the  four 
famous  rivers.  Here  it  is  possible  to  trace  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Turanian  upon  the  Semitic,  far  more 
to  see  that  of  the  Semitic  upon  the  Aryan.  Prehis- 
toric study  has  in  our  own  day  become  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  branches  of  research  :  and  while 
the  most  learned  writers  of  the  age  labor  to  unravel 
the  fanciful  myths  and  traditions  of  the  ancient  peo- 
ples, and  to  show  us  that  the  whole  intellectual  force 
of  such  nations  was  occupied  in  framing  religious 
beliefs,  ordinances  and  rites,  it  is  to  me  a  most 
astonishing  fact  that  they  never  seem  to  care  to  ask 
why  this  was  so  ;  what  the  connection  was  :  and  Still 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY.  rfl 

a  thousand  times  stranger  that  the  very  men  who 
now  spend  their  lives  in  telling  us  of  the  religions 
of  other  people  and  of  the  avidity  with  which  those 
people  seized  upon  the  merest  fragments  of  religion, 
should  themselves  so  na'ively  display  their  own  dis- 
taste for  that  incomparable  Religion  ("  to  speak," 
as  St.  Paul  says,  "  as  a  fool ")  which  has  blessed 
their  own  day  and  generation  ;  thereby  so  clearly 
proving  their  own  poverty  in  those  mental  endow- 
ments which  made  their  myth-makers  great.  On 
one  page  they  tell  us  that  nothing  so  beautiful  has 
been  evolved  since  men  ceased  to  give  themselves 
up  to  the  contemplation  of  the  supernatural,  and  on 
the  next  page  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  the 
supernatural.  While  there  is  a  thin  vein  of  analogy 
between  the  early  stages  of  civilization  and  the 
childhood  of  the  individual,  to  allow  more  than  this 
would  be  to  make  out  a  very  strong  argument  for 
the  superiority  of  childhood.  All  we  have  to  go 
upon  is  that  in  an  age  of  unparalleled  splendor  in  the 
almost  limitless  fertility  of  the  creative  imagination, 
the  human  mind  abandoned  itself  to  the  contempla- 
tion of  Beings  or  Powers  alien  to  those  prescribed 
by  human  destiny. 

Man  is  guided  in  his  love  of  the  Beautiful  by  an 
instinctive  perception.  This,  like  the  need  of  some 
religion,  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  his  being. 
As  in  Art,  so  in  Religion,  the  individual  man  is 
the  product  of  his  age.  For  the  universality  of  re- 
ligious belief  in  those  early  ages  we  need  not  ask 
ii 


1 62  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

for  more  efficient  causes  than  the  sense  of  sin  and 
need :  the  irresistible  march  of  a  great  idea,*  the  ex- 
citement pertaining  to  its  novelty  ;  the  spontaneity, 
intensity,  and  unexhausted  condition  of  the  feelings, 
quickening  the  imagination  and  elevating  all  the 
powers  of  the  mind  preternaturally.  Grote  leaves  no 
room  for  the  supposition  that  the  mythopceic  faculty 
has  anything  to  do  with  chronology.  And  Dr.  Wilson 
distinctly  tells  us  that  "  the  term  Prehistoric  has  no 
chronological  significance."  The  sum  and  substance 
of  this  original  thinker's  researches  may  be  found  in 
the  enunciation  that  "  all  nations  are  Prehistoric 
whose  chroniclings  are  undersigned  and  whose  history 
is  wholly  recoverable  by  induction."  A  very  little 
reflection  shows  us  that  we  have  fully  developed 
civilizations  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  B.C.  and 
prehistoric  peoples  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,  A.D. 

*  Let  me  refer  here  to  a  striking  passage  in  the  recent  work 
of  my  friend,  Dr.  Thomas  Scott  Bacon, — "  The  Reign  of  God 
not  the  Reign  of  Law:" — What  became  afterwards  of  that 
true  knowledge  which  the  first  man  had  ?  Can  we  think  that 
the  first  knowledge  utterly  perished  from  later  generations  ? 
It  is  not  fanciful,  but  most  reasonable  to  suppose  that  any 
great  idea  of  truth,  once  getting  abroad  among  men,  will  never 
perish  from  among  them.  It  may  be  mingled  by  them  with 
false  notions  so  as  to  disappear  to  ordinary  notice  in  the  com- 
pound. But  it  will  still  remain  in  the  thoughts  of  men  and 
work  powerfully  in  all  their  history.  The  original  revelation 
of  God  survives  in  the  idea  of  any  religion ;  of  some  being 
power  and  person  (  or  persons  )  above  man ;  of  this  Divine  law 
and  will  being  contrary  to  man's  corrupt  self-will." 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


But  to  return  to  the  subject  of  the  Oriental  gen- 
ius and  to  the  traces  of  Art-culture  and  civilization 
which  are  at  work  long  before  the  myth-makers  ap- 
pear on  the  scene.  To  us  who  think  we  have  good 
reason  for  belief  in  the  supernatural,  interest  in  an 
inquiry  into  the  life  of  the  ancients  centers  upon 
those  favored  people  who  have  transmitted  to  us  the 
"  Oracles  of  God.  "  It  is  with  almost  breathless  in- 
terest that  we  seek  the  meaning  of  the  Beautiful  in 
those  forms  which  God,  Himself,  has  sanctioned.  If 
it  is  a  genuine  delight  to  try  to  trace  out  those 
vague  conceptions  of  the  human  intellect  which  tes- 
tify to  the  existence  of  something  above  and  beyond 
man's  full  appreciation  in  this  life,  with  what  a  ten- 
fold and  awe-struck  curiosity  do  we  approach  the 
study  of  those  conceptions  of  the  Divine  Intellect 
upon  which  the  Almighty  Maker  of  all  things  has 
Himself  set  His  seal  !  There  are  learned  critics  who 
make  the  statement  that  "  the  Jews  had  no  Art.  " 
Again,  there  are  others  who  believe  that  all  they 
had  was  derived  immediately  from  the  surrounding 
idolatrous  nations.  This  provokes  investigation. 

I  have  referred  to  one  of  the  most  striking  Art- 
forms  of  Assyria  and  Egypt, — the  human-headed, 
winged  bull  or  lion.  To  one  who  has  not  had  the 
privilege  (which  I,  myself,  have  had)  of  seeing  the 
grandest  of  these  representations,  in  the  British 
Museum,  words  will  hardly  convey  any  impression 
of  their  solemnity,  of  their  ugliness  (almost  bordering 
on  the  horrible)  and  of  their  stately  and  overpower- 


164  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ing  grandeur.  These  figures  of  such  mysterious 
and  fearful  aspect  are  claimed  by  many  learned 
writers*  to  be  the  models  of  the  Hebrew  Cherubim, 
which  in  the  Assyrian  tongue  are  known  as  Kirubu. 

The  Historical  connection  is  that  the  Jews  had  no 
Tabernacle  until  they  had  left  Egypt;  hence  of 
course  (?)  they  carried  their  recollections  of  Egyptian 
Art  into  the  works  made  for  the  wilderness-temple. 

No  one  attempts  to  say  whether  the  Egyptians 
derived  the  idea  from  the  Assyrians  or  the  Assyrians 
from  the  Egyptians.  It  is  considered  a  rather  strik- 
ing fact  that  when  Moses  is  commanded  to  make  the 
Cherubim,  it  is  assumed  that  he  knows  what  they 
were.  Again,  it  has  been  assumed  that  in  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  Cherubim  in  the  Psalms,  Second 
Book  of  Samuel  and  Ezekiel,  the  Bible  writers  use 
the  language  of  the  folklore  of  the  Tigro-Euphrates 
valley.  "(Kirubu,"  says  M.  Lenormant,  "  is  a  syn- 
onym for  the  steer-god,  whose  winged  image  filled 
the  place  of  guardian  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Assyrian  Palace."  According  to  the  learned  F. 
Delitzsch,  Kurubu  is  a  synonym  of  Kurukhu,  "  the 
circling  bird,"  Commenting  upon  both  of  these,  Mr. 
Cheyne,  the  well-known  English  authority,  says : 
"  The  two  forms  seem  to  be  coordinate  and  ex- 
pressive of  some  quality  common  to  the  King  of 
birds  and  the  colossal  steer.  "  It  is  amusing  to 
find  that  not  one  statement  made  by  Liibke  in  re- 


Reber,  Layard,  De  Saulcy. 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


I65 


gard  to  the  Cherubim  is  correct;  his  translator 
being  obliged  in  a  foot-note  to  place  a  negative 
particle  before  each  one  of  these  statements.  The 
xepovfi,  according  to  Dr.  Wm.  Smith,  was  a  symbolical 
figure,  a  composite  creature-form,  which  finds  a  par- 
allel in  the  religious  insignia  of  Assyria,  Egypt,  and 
Persia.  "  In  such  forms,"  he  goes  on  to  say, 
"  every  imaginative  people  has  sought  to  embody  its 
notions  either  of  the  attributes  of  the  Divine  Essence 
or  of  the  vast  powers  of  nature  which  transcend  those 
of  man."  I  think  Dr.  Smith  would  imply  that  under 
the  given  conditions  the  human  mind  would  naturally 
invent  the  Cherubim. 

We  know  that  so  greatly  does  the  spiritual  take 
precedence  over  the  material,  that  any  representa- 
tion of  majestic  and  glorious  conceptions  seems 
inadequate.  Every  true  artist  suffers  in  the  ac- 
knowledged shortcoming  of  the  outward  expression 
of  his  inward  thought.  But  allowing  all  this,  to  me 
it  is  simply  shocking  to  consider  the  monsters  of 
the  British  Museum  identical  with  the  sacred,  awful 
Cherubim  of  the  Bible.  Fortunately,  then,  for  me, 
I  find  after  an  examination  of  many  different 
hypotheses,  no  reasonable  grounds  for  such  belief. 
In  the  first  place,  the  Cherubim  were  known  to 
primitive  man  long  before  Egypt  and  Assyria  were 
heard  of.  And  in  the  field  of  pure  conjecture,  I 
can  think  of  nothing  more  unnatural  and  improbable 
than  the  invention  of  the  Cherubim.  The  facts 
that  Egypt  had  Cherubim,  that  Assyria  and  Persia 


STUDIES  m  CRITICISM. 


had  Cherubim,  and  that  Moses  was  not  permitted 
to  expatiate  upon  the  form  of  the  archetypal  Cheru- 
bim all  point  back  most  impressively  to  a  time 
when  the  first  few  members  of  the  human  race  saw 
a  Divine  manifestation  of  this  unearthly  and  terrific 
form,  —  a  fact  which  is  expressly  recorded  in  the 
Second  Chapter  of  Genesis  for  our  benefit.  And  in 
addition  to  this  common  heritage,  Moses  was  ex- 
pressly commanded  to  make  every  detail  for  the  Tab- 
ernacle after  "  the  pattern  which  was  shewed  him 
in  the  mount."  Then,  although  they  are  the  Divine 
heraldry,  as  Dr.  Smith  says,  marked,  carved  or 
wrought  everywhere  on  the  house  and  furniture  of 
God,  these  are,  really,  but  cherubic  insignia.  The 
real  Cherubim  were  seen  by  the  Priests  only,  and 
their  peculiar  form  will  always  remain  an  impene- 
trable mystery.  In  Ezekiel's  vision  they  are  un- 
doubtedly possessed  of  glorious  and  dazzling  beauty. 
And  this  alone  would  make  it  seem  most  probable 
that  the  Cherubim  of  the  uncovenanted  nations  —  the 
combination  of  vague  tradition  and  original  genius 
—  retained  scarcely  a  point  in  common  with  the  true 
form.  All  hope  of  historical  enlightenment  ceases 
with  the  conquest  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  for  in  the 
Second  Temple  there  was  no  Ark  ;  no  need  of 
guardians  of  its  mercy-seat,  nor  of  avengers  of  its 
broken  law. 

The  powerful  hold  which  this  idea  of  the  Cheru- 
bim had  upon  the  mind  is  seen  in  all  subsequent 
Art.  Modern  European  painting  is  aglow  with 


GENIUS  AND  MOKALITY.  167 

Cherubic  forms,  the  transmutation  into  a  represen- 
tation of  angelic  childhood,  or  simply  into  a  winged 
infant  head,*  still  bearing  the  traces  of  its  symbolic 
origin.  St.  John's  description  of  the  Cherubim  in  the 
"  Revelation  "  is  literalized  into  the  representation 
of  the  four  Evangelists,  the  symbolism  living  on 
long  after  the  devout  spirit  of  early  Christian  Art 
had  taken  its  flight.  The  significance  of  wings  in 
Art  is  sometimes  described  as  a  legacy  from  Nature- 
myths.  It  is  not.  It  is  a  religious  idea,  spiritual, 
rather  than  spirituelle,  although  in  the  graceful 
fancy  expressed  in  the  conception  there  is  a  purely 
artistic  merit. 

However  far  men  may  have  wandered  from  the 
true  objective  reality  of  which  this  singular  form  is 
a  representation,  it  is  ridiculous  to  suppose  that 
there  is  no  such  reality.  No  Art-critic  has  done 
more  than  play  upon  the  surface  of  the  ideas  ex- 
pressed in  the  true  Cherubim.  The  grandeur  of 
those  ideas  is  set  forth  in  a  work  which  (to  me) 
so  far  transcends  other  books  that  no  comparison 
can  possibly  be  instituted.  In  "Mediatorial  Sov- 
ereignty "  by  George  Steward  of  Ireland  will  be 
found  a  magnificent  exegesis  of  the  whole  ground 


*  The  bodiless  winged-head  appears  in  Art  only  after  the 
gravest  heresies  had  prevailed  among  thinkers.  The  seat  of 
evil  was  supposed  to  be  in  the  body  ;  hence  it  was  to  be  anni- 
hilated. This  representation  is,  therefore,  but  a  poor  frag- 
ment of  the  original,  magnificent  conception : — as  false  in 
form  as  in  idea. 


1 68  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

covered  by  this  wonderful  manifestation  of  triune 
spiritualized  existence. 

But  though  one  of  the  most  important,  this  is  by 
no  means  the  only  form  of  Art  which  the  Hebrews 
seem  to  have  had  in  common  with  other  nations. 
The  Temple  (and  what  nation  pretending  to  any 
civilization  had  not  its  Temple  ?)  whose  beauty  was 
entirely  typical  of  spiritual  realities,  with  its  pillars 
named  "  In  it  is  strength,"  and  "  He  shall  establish," 
its  molten  sea  resting  upon  twelve  brazen  oxen,  its 
altars,  embroidered  curtains  and  golden  candle- 
sticks, did  not  only  partake  largely  of  Phoenician 
style  and  adornment,  but  was  the  work,  in  a  measure, 
of  Phoenician  Artists. 

From  any  point  of  view  it  must  be  regarded  as  a 
singular  thing  that  the  marked,  characteristic  and 
peculiar  Art-form  of  one  country  should  attain  its 
highest  development  and  receive  its  praise  through 
the  ideas  of  another  country.  The  sphyrelaton 
style,  the  carved  wooden  form  covered  with  sheets 
of  metal,  known  to  us  in  embryo  in  the  Homeric 
epics,  the  invention  and  pride  of  Phoenicia,  was  not 
imitated  by  the  Hebrews,  but  adopted  in  toto.  Both 
Hiram  the  king  and  Hiram  the  architect  of  Tyre 
are  identified  with  Solomon's  Temple.  The  metal 
hitherto  employed  by  the  Phoenicians  had  been 
copper,  bronze,  or  silver;  in  this  case  the  carved 
wood  of  Lebanon,  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world 
for  carving,  was  overlaid  with  pure  gold.  In  all 
cases  where  solid  gold  could  not  be  employed,  this 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


:69 


empaistic  work  came  into  use,  with  a  significance 
rendered  evident  not  only  by  its  dazzling  beauty, 
but  by  some  occult  suggestion  of  an  inward,  hidden 
perfection  upon  which  that  outward  beauty  was 
helplessly,  yet  triumphantly,  dependent. 

Not,  however,  in  the  detail  of  the  interior,  lavish 
and  magnificent  as  was  the  material  employed,  lay 
the  chief  charm  and  beauty  of  the  Temple.  The 
site  of  the  building,  the  marvel  and  the  admiration 
of  travelers  of  every  age  and  race,  made  it  worthy 
to  be  called  "  the  perfection  of  beauty,  the  joy  of 
the  whole  earth." 

A  study  of  the  Temple  opens  up  a  subject  of  end- 
less interest,  I  think ; — the  connection,  and  the  re- 
sponsibility involved  in  the  connection,  between  the 
Chosen  People  and  the  various  heathen  nations 
with  whom  they  were  Providentially  brought  in  con- 
tact. In  my  reading  I  do  not  remember  seeing  any 
due  stress  placed  upon  the  moral  influences  which 
must  have  acted  and  reacted  upon  the  Jews  and  the 
Mesopotamians,  the  Jews  and  the  Egyptians,  the 
Jews  and  the  Assyrians,  the  Jews  and  the  Phoe- 
nicians, the  Jews  and  the  Chaldeans,  the  Jews  and 
the  Medes,  the  Jews  and  the  Persians,  the  Jews  and 
the  Greeks,  the  Jews  and  the  Romans,  successively 
brought  into  the  closest  contact  and  at  crucial 
periods  of  their  histories. 

I  have  assumed  here  a  divinely  implanted  in- 
tuition, governing  and  guiding  the  self-originating, 
self-developing  power  of  civilization.  I  do  not  be- 


170 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


lieve  that  there  ever  existed  a  time  when  the  Heav- 
enly Father's  care  was  confined  to  the  one  people. 
Of  course  I  do  not  believe  it  would  be  possible  to 
unravel  the  mysterious  and  inextricably  confused 
threads  of  influence  which  must  have  been  woven 
into  the  destiny  of  those  alien  nations.  But,  as  I 
said  before,  the  subject,  if  once  clearly  presented 
to  the  mind,  can  scarcely  fade  from  it.  Inexplica- 
bly it  will  modify  all  research  into  Ancient  History. 
Many  persons  have  the  most  shocking  ideas  on 
this  subject.  They  do  not  understand  that  the 
Jews  were  only  the  representatives  of  the  human 
family,  and  that  their  privileges  (like  all  those  ac- 
corded the  individual)  were  irrevocably  bound  up 
with  the  gravest  responsibilities.  Not  only  in 
Bible  History,  but  throughout  the  Book  itself,  one 
can  scarcely  fail  to  see  that  a  contribution  is  levied 
upon  everything  actually  existent  and  within  the 
scope  of  the  understanding  which  will  in  any  way 
facilitate  the  elucidation  of  spiritual  truth.  Alex- 
ander Von  Humboldt  touches  upon  this  from  the 
most  rationalistic  standpoint  when  speaking  in  terms 
of  unbounded  admiration  of  the  civ.  Psalm. 

Speaking,  as  we  are,  of  Art  in  its  widest  sense, 
we  cannot,  of  course,  omit  the  mention  of  the  un- 
paralleled beauty  of  Jewish  Literature.  There  is 
so  much  literature  which  has  no  artistic  value, 
which  does  not,  indeed,  come  under  the  head  of 
Art  at  all,  that  here  we  must  again  remind  our- 
selves of  the  true  and  proper  demands  of  Art. 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


171 


There  is  much  that  interests  us,  much  that  awakens 
admiration  and  delight  (as  the  beauty  of  the  mate- 
rial world,  the  wonders  and  enunciations  of  Science, 
etc.,)  which  does  not  appeal  to  us  with  the  peculiar 
power  belonging  to  the  Art- world.  There  our  in- 
terest is  not  concentrated  upon  the  idea,  the  con- 
ception, the  inward  thought  to  be  expressed,  nor 
upon  the  manifestation,  the  beauty  itself,  but  is 
equally  divided  between  the  idea  and  the  special 
means  adapted  to  express  that  idea.  Mere  form  is 
a  means  of  exquisite  delight  to  true  lovers  of  Art. 
This  is  horrifying  to  the  uninitiated,  who  imagine 
we  are  talking  of  the  superficial,  or  the  merely  arti- 
ficial. But  no  Art  could  exist  at  all,  still  less  could 
the  love  of  it  be  styled  universal,  did  not  people  ut- 
terly incapable  of  Art-production  find  a  peculiar 
pleasure  in  the  effort  to  explain  the  meaning  of 
pure  form.  And  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  a  class 
exists  apart  from  artists,  whose  members  have 
proved  themselves  far  more  capable  as  interpreters 
of  Art  than  artists  themselves,  and  who  have  fre- 
quently revealed  to  the  individual  artist  the  mean- 
ing of  his  own  work.  Literature  regarded  as  Art  is 
so  much  the  most  complex  of  its  forms,  calling  into 
activity  the  combined  forces  aroused  by  other 
forms,  and  hence,  destined  to  exercise  universal 
sway  only  in  the  full  maturity  of  the  race,  that  it  is 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  marvelous  things  in 
the  world  that  its  existence  can  be  traced  to  such  a 
remote  period  as  that  found  in  the  History  of  the 


IJ2  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Hebrews.  Again,  it  is  an  astonishing  thing  that 
the  Revelation  which  is  given  to  man  to  enable 
him  to  crucify  all  propensities  to  evil  and  warn  him 
of  judgment  to  come,  should  be  clothed  in  forms  of 
indestructible  loveliness.  The  incomparable  hold 
which  the  Bible  has  on  mankind  is  certainly  based, 
in  part,  upon  this  love  of  the  beautiful.  Here  all 
see,  as  many  may  not  be  willing  to  acknowledge 
with  regard  to  other  forms  of  Art  (as  Architecture 
and  Sculpture),  the  wonderful  spiritual  power  of  the 
Beautiful.  When  we  join  the  general  wail  (too  of- 
ten one  of  pure  affectation)  over  the  imperfection  of 
everything  on  earth,  let  us  remember  that  we  can  con- 
ceive of  nothing  so  perfect  as  the  language  of  the  Bi- 
ble. Our  inquiry  here  into  the  meaning  of  the  Beauti- 
ful leads  up  to  the  consideration  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  Bible,  for  at  this  point  an  unmistakable  similar- 
ity between  genius  and  inspiration  is  discovered. 
But  at  this  very  moment,  in  the  act  of  making  the 
discovery,  a  most  striking  and  unmistakable  dis- 
similarity is  also  perceived. 

One  of  the  most  gifted  daughters  of  'modern  Is- 
rael, Miss  Emma  Lazarus,  in  a  poem  of  wonderful 
beauty  represents  the  Egyptian  as  seeking  Wealth, 
the  Greek,  Beauty,  the  Roman,  Power  and  the  He- 
brew, Truth.  So  keen  and  piercing  an  intellect  as 
that  of  F.  W.  Robertson  has  left  on  record  a  state- 
ment to  the  effect  that  the  Jews  were  confessedly 
the  most  spiritual  of  mankind.  But  here  we  have 
in  reality  a  point  of  divergence  of  the  very  profound- 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


'73 


est  import,  affording  a  key  to  the  solving  of  a  grave 
question.  A  little  attention  given  to  the  History 
of  the  Jewish  people,  as  written  by  themselves,  will 
soon  show  any  candid  reader  that  they  were  not  in 
search  of  truth,  nor  by  any  means  the  most  spiritu- 
ally minded  of  mankind.  I  am  astonished  that 
such  gifted  writers  as  those  cited  should  forget  that 
we  ordinary  people  have  access  to  the  archives. 
The  marked  feature  of  the  Art  of  this  people  is  that 
it  is  in  no  respect  the  creation  of  genius.  In  noth- 
ing that  they  accomplished  in  Bible  times  do  they 
claim  for  themselves  or  is  ever  claimed  for  them 
the  possession  of  genius.  They  exercise  no  military 
or  inventive  genius,  no  genius  for  organization,  for 
government,  for  conquest  or  for  Art.  Whether  they 
were  gifted  or  not  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.* 
The  only  thing  we  do  know  is  that  they  were 
authoritatively  withheld  from  originating  anything 
great.  All  that  is  great  in  that  History  is  due  to 
the  working  of  Divine,  not  human  power,  and  the 
subjection  of  the  human  is  not  more  unmistak- 
able than  the  sway  of  the  Divine.  The  purely 
Historical  Books  of  the  Bible  go  to  prove  that  if  the 
Hebrews  were  in  search  of  anything  it  was  of  error. 
The  statement  that  they  had  no  Art  is  not  true ; 

*  To  judge  the  ancient  Greek  or  German  by  the  modern 
would  certainly  be  to  set  all  methods  of  historical  investigation 
at  defiance. 


174 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


they  had  Art,  but  its  peculiarities  are  that  it  was 
neither  self-originated  nor  borrowed,  and  no  won- 
der it  is  a  puzzle  to  those  who  cannot  find  the  key. 
This  is  the  only  Art  in  the  world  that  is  to  be  viewed 
solely  from  the  subjective  stand-point.  The  super- 
naturalism  of  the  Bible  isolates  the  Jews  from  all 
other  nations,  inasmuch  as  we  cannot  but  discover 
a  distinct  purpose  in  that  isolation.  But  at  the 
same  time  the  very  contrast  for  contrast  shows  us 
that  there  was  a  purpose,  not  indeed  of  the  same 
dignity  or  magnitude,  but  still  a  distinct  purpose  in 
permitting  other  nations  to  exercise  the  gifts 
showered  upon  them  so  unstintedly. 

But  I  fear  that  I  have  already  dallied  too  long 
with  a  part  of  my  subject  which  has  been  so  full  of 
interest  to  myself.  I  have  said  enough  to  afford  a 
clew  to  the  role  played  by  genius — the  power  to  give 
expression  to  national  taste — in  the  civilizations  of 
the  ancients.  That  rble  in  heathen  countries  we  find 
to  be  taken  up  by  Inspiration  in  Palestine.  That 
intuition  and  that  Revelation  were  alike  occupied  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  spiritual,  in  contradistinction 
to  the  purely  intellectual,  the  emotional,  the 
material,  and,  above  all,  the  moral  needs  of  man's 
nature. 

But  though  as  compared  with  the  spiritual,  the 
didactic  moral  inculcation  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
overshadowed,  yet  is  that  one  feature — its  moral 
standard — enough  and  more  than  enough  to  justify 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


175 


the  contempt  now  felt  for  all  other  peoples  when 
named  in  conjunction  with  the  Hebrews.  What  is 
most  striking  in  genius  is  not  its  affinity  with 
religion,  but  its  lack  of  union  with  morality.  And 
what  is  most  characteristic  of  the  inspired  page  of 
the  Bible  is  its  unyielding  determination,  despite 
human  opposition  of  the  most  inveterate  kind,  to 
join  the  spiritual  with  the  moral.  But  it  would 
not  be  nearer  the  truth  to  say  the  Hebrews  were  the 
most  moral  of  mankind  than  to  say  they  were  the 
most  spiritual  of  mankind.  Both  the  moral  and  the 
spiritual  were  superinduced,  not  natural.  The 
subjective  disposition  was  in  all  nations  the  same, 
the  objective  ideal  altogether  different. 

So  completely  are  we  of  this  age  possessed  with 
the  idea  of  the  inseparable  union  of  religion  and 
morality  that  we  are  unwilling  to  acknowledge  that 
the  one  can  exist  without  the  other.  Attentive  study 
of  what  has  been  aptly  styled  the  Science  of  Hu- 
manity compels  that  acknowledgment. 

None  deny  that  the  Greeks  divined  the  Beautiful, 
as  no  people  ever  did  before  or  after  them,  and  it 
is  superfluous  to  remind  any  of  the  indissoluble 
union  of  their  genius  and  religion.  So  completely 
are  all  occupied  with  this,  that  seldom,  if  ever,  is 
brought  to  light  how  miserably  meager  were  their 
conceptions  of  morality.  Their  myths  (considered 
the  highest  expression  of  those  held  in  common  by 
the  Indo-European  nations)  are  full  of  immorality 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


of  the  grossest  type,*  and,  hideous  thought  !  the 
gods  themselves  were  immoral.  They  were  thieves, 
liars,  drunkards,  treacherous  truce-breakers,  murder- 
ers, adulterers,  seducers.  Power,  the  least  god- 
like, most  demoniacal  of  attributes  was  the  one 
thing  the  Greek  was  taught  to  worship.  But  "vice 
armed  with  sacred  authority  descended  in  vain  from 
the  eternal  abodes."  Feeble  was  the  moral  intu- 
ition, but  marvelous  was  the  strength  of  the 
aesthetic  instinct,  which  she  found  to  repel  her. 

Starting  out  with  a  record  full  of  the  blackest 
crime,  nothing  in  the  Greeks  has  struck  me  so  forci- 
bly as  the  perfectly  cool,  deliberate,  calculating  way 
in  which  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  immorality 
was  inexpedient.  No  lofty  sense  of  duty,  no  irre- 


*  While  this  is  so  of  the  more  generally  diffused  myths, 
much  more  is  it  true  of  the  local  Greek  legends.  Athens  and 
Sparta  united  in  avowed  admiration  for  cunning  and  treachery. 
Honesty  and  dishonesty  were  matters  easily  subordinated  to 
the  higher  importance  of  dexterity  and  concealment.  In 
Sparta  it  was  the  custom  to  teach  children  to  steal.  The  Attic 
legend  concerning  Ulysses  and  Palamedes  treats  of  nothing 
but  deception,  Ulysses  treacherously  taking  the  life  of  Pala- 
medes because  he  had  detected  his  simulated  insanity.  The 
Legend  of  Canace  and  Macareus,  gives,  if  not  a  sanction,  an 
authorized  interest  to  the  story  of  a  guilty  passion.  The  Le- 
gend of  Athamas  authorized  human  sacrifices,  a  practice  based 
upon  this  senseless  story  continuing  in  Orchomenos  until  the 
time  of  Plutarch.  Indeed  it  would  seem  from  the  many,  many 
legends  demanding  life  that  ingenuity  must  have  been  taxed 
to  its  utmost  to  invent  pretexts  for  cruelty. 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


177 


sistible  might  of  conscience  swayed  that  brilliant  in- 
tellect. But  something  that  was  not  of  earth,  some- 
thing that  had  not  to  do  with  material  comfort,  sel- 
fish luxury,  or  even  political  greatness  was  powerful 
enough  to  lift  them  above  the  horrors  of  the  foulest 
moral  atmosphere,  and  elevate  them  in  the  scale  of 
being  for  all  time.  But  to  cut  short  this  historical 
inquiry  :  the  question  reiterates  itself  :  Why  does  the 
love  of  the  Beautiful  precede  that  of  the  Right  ? 
For  wherever  we  turn  the  leaves  of  past  ages  we 
find  man  more  fully  developed  on  every  side  than 
the  moral  one.  The  philosophy  of  the  human  mind 
simply  testifies  to  the  existence  of  a  moral  intuition. 
It  does  not  tell  us,  as  history  does,  of  the  fatal  flaw 
which  exists  in  that  intuition.  It  tells  us  that  every- 
where man  recognizes  a  distinction  between  right 
and  wrong.  It  cannot  be  expected  to  reveal,  as 
history  does,  the  awful  failure  to  illustrate  that  per- 
ception in  actual  life.  All  the  traditions,  revelations, 
instincts  and  historical  records  of  the  human  race 
point  to  a  time  when  man  sustained  a  moral  injury. 
And  when  we  remember  that  everything  that  makes 
for  human  happiness,  welfare  and  prosperity  is  to- 
tally dependent  on  morality,  we  see  that  nothing-  can 
account  for  the  neglect  of  this  but  a  deep-seated, 
ineradicable  moral  malady  dating  back  to  the  pro- 
genitors of  the  race. 

But  in  studying  the  nature  and  character  of  genius 
we  find  that  a  merciful  Creator  has  not  seen  fit  to  per- 
mit man  to  stumble  along  by  the  feeble  glimmering  of 


!^8  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

a  perverted  moral  instinct.  He  may  be  as  impera- 
tively called  back  to  his  Creator  by  the  love  of  the 
Beautiful  as  he  could  be  by  the  love  of  the  Right.* 
Do  you  weary  of  the  insatiable  demands  of  Art? 
Look  at  the  claims  of  the  moral  law  and  then  at  those 
of  the  Beautiful !  Genuine  morality  is  so  noble,  so 
magnificent,  so  altogether  an  improbable  attainment 
of  humanity,  that  I  doubt  whether  it  is  understood 
even  in  our  own  day.  I  know  that  some  of  the  grand- 
est intellectual  power  the  world  has  known  has  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  elucidation  of  this  attain- 
ment as  described  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  but  I  doubt 
whether  many  as  yet  freely  soar  to  the  conception  of 
a  righteousness  which,  in  its  abundant  fulfilling,  is 
independent  of  the  law. 

If,  then,  we  acknowledge  such  to  be  the  fact  after 
the  conception  has  been  set  forth,  what  could  we 
expect  of  mankind  in  ages  when  it  was  unheard  of  ? 
For  the  ideal  of  a  morality  uninforced  by  Christian- 
ity is  not  adapted  to  elicit  the  noblest  qualities  of 
human  nature.  And  although  we  have  seen  reason 
to  discard  a  belief  in  anything  like  an  intellectual 
infancy  of  the  race,  yet  is  there  most  undoubtedly  to 
be  be  traced  a  capacity  for  moral  progress  independ- 

*  The  subject  of  psychical  renovation  or  regeneration  is  not 
touched  upon  here.  We  have  confined  the  attention  to  the 
purely  natural  influences  of  these  intuitions  considered  object- 
ively: the  natural  being  considered  as  answering  a  purpose 
not  foreign  or  contrary  to  the  supernatural,  but  simply  a  sub- 
ordinate and  dissimilar  purpose. 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


ent  of  that  progress  itself.  Here,  then,  the  child- 
hood of  the  individual  offers  aid  in  understanding 
that  of  the  race.  When  we  first  enter  the  moral 
realm  it  is  upon  that  which  is  harsh,  stern,  unrelent- 
ing, pitiless.  We  are  oppressed  and  burdened  not 
only  by  the  recognition  of  obligation,  but  a  thousand 
times  more  so  by  the  sense  of  shortcoming,  the 
painful  consciousness  of  failure.  Taken  at  its  very 
start,  the  moral  instinct  appeals  to  us  through  mo- 
tives of  the  most  intense  self-interest.  Moral  attain- 
ment at  this  rudimentary  stage  of  the  nation  or  the 
being  has  a  contracting  effect,  promoting  self-esteem 
at  the  expense  of  warmer  sympathies,  nobler  aspira- 
tions and  more  ardent  affections. 

Now  contrast  this  with  the  gracious,  laughter  lov- 
ing realm  of  the  Beautiful.  See  man  enter  it  all  un- 
conscious of  inexorable  Law  :  see  him  abandon  him- 
self to  it  from  motives  of  the  most  disinterested  na- 
ture that  can  be  imagined,  and  observe  him  as  he 
recognizes  more  and  more  clearly  the  Divine  Power 
which  constitutes  the  essence  of  all  that  is  truly 
beautiful  or  sublime.*  "  Only  in  this  sphere  of  vol- 
untary activity,"  says  Schiller,  "when  under  no  com- 
pulsion of  necessity  or  conscience,  is  it  possible  for 
man  to  put  forth  his  whole,  that  is,  his  ideal  self." 


*This  idea  has  been  elaborated  by  Schiller  in  his  "Letters 
on  the  Esthetic  Education  of  Man  " ;  but  in  justice  to  the  great 
author  as  well  as  to  myself,  I  must  here  state  that,  as  given 
above,  it  had  been  fully  established  in  my  mind  before  I  was 
aware  that  any  one  had  written  on  the  subject. 


!8o  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Not  only,  then,  to  supply  the  vacuum  created  by 
moral  delinquency,  but  because  the  moral  impulsion 
is  one  of  constraint,  and  freedom  is  the  vital  breath  of 
the  spiritual  life,  does  the  love  of  the  Beautiful  pre- 
dominate to  the  almost  total  exclusion  of  moral  mo- 
tives in  the  real  childhood  of  the  world.  Surely  it 
is  possible  to  go  further.  Morality  in  its  first  de- 
velopments must  have  to  do  with  this  life.  Now  the 
spiritual  nature  being  cultivated,  subordinately  but 
inevitably,  by  the  aid  of  these  two  God-given  intui- 
tions, it  is  at  once  evident  that  the  one  having  ear- 
liest sway  in  the  order  of  time  must  be  that  which 
has  the  most  readily  recognized  affinity  with  that 
nature.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  aesthetic  in- 
tuition. To  what  other  purpose  can  this  apparent 
waste  of  mental  energy  be  ascribed  than  to  the  ele- 
vation, purification,  and  glorification  of  man's  spirit- 
ual nature  ? 

But  this  past  precedence  implies  subsequent  con- 
flict :  for  I  have  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
moral  attainment  now  occupies  the  place  once  held 
by  genius.  The  History  of  this  conflict  is  undoubt- 
edly one  of  the  primal  constituents  in  a  true  History  of 
the  race.  At  this  stage  of  the  world's  History  we 
cannot  but  view  it  from  a  prescribed  stand-point — 
circumscribed  as  we  shall  see  by  the  moral  revolu- 
tions produced  in  the  Establishment  of  Christianity, 
the  Invention  of  Printing,  the  Intellectual  Educa- 
tion of  Women  and  the  Study  of  Natural  Science. 

The  works  of  Art  through  which  the  intellectual 


AND  MORALITY. 


life  of  the  ancients  chiefly  displayed  itself  were  not 
more  undeniably  connected  with  spiritual  aspiration 
than  they  were  with  moral  degradation.  Licen- 
tiousness, drunkenness,  gambling,  the  sacrifice  of 
children  to  devils,  the  enslavement  and  debasement 
of  the  weak,  the  total  destruction  of  everything  like 
mutual  trust  and  affection,  war  with  all  its  train  of 
horrors,  treachery  and  infidelity  of  every  descrip- 
tion were  among  the  evils  tacitly,  if  not  openly, 
enjoined  by  the  moral  (or,  rather,  immoral)  systems 
of  those  ages,  and  many  of  these  revolting  vices 
formed  a  part  of  the  religious  worship  which  took 
place  in  temples  adorned  with  every  glory  the  gen- 
ius of  man  could  lavish  on  them.*  It  is  not  for  an 
instant  to  be  supposed  that  the  ancients  were  un- 
aware of  this  contradiction.  Moral  perception  was 
simply  in  abeyance,  not  extinct.  Not  only  the 
works  of  genius  themselves,  but  such  fragments  of 
literature,  tradition  and  oral  teaching  as  have  sur- 
vived the  ages  all  testify  to  this  discernment,  and 
it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  the  inevitably  un- 
happy results  of  immorality  did  not  produce  some 
effect  upon  the  judgment  of  each  succeeding  gener- 

*  Diana  was  propitiated  by  placing  a  young  man  upon  her 
altar  and  whipping  him  until  his  entrails  could  be  seen 
through  the  quivering  flesh.  Dionysius  was  invoked  by  a 
drunken  frenzy  terminating  often  in  the  loss  of  life  itself,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  loss  of  self-respect.  Of  the  Elusinian 
Mysteries  in  the  Temples  of  Ceres,  it  is  simply  impossible 
for  any  one  to  speak  or  write. 


1 82  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ation,  though  the  suffering  the  world  has  caused  it- 
self by  its  wilful  wickedness  is,  even  yet,  more  the 
theme  of  sentimental  pity  than  of  stern  reprobation. 
The  vices  which  if  once  committed  by  a  single 
person  in  the  Bible  seem  to  horrify  and  shock 
many  modern  minds  were  (and  are)  the  habitual, 
customary  and  acknowledged  acts  of  all  the  idola- 
trous nations.  Idolatry  itself  is  essentially  and 
emphatically  immoral.  Conceptions  of  the  Beauti- 
ful, the  Sublime,  the  Eternal  find  no  affinity  with 
Idolatry.  You  will  always  find  the  grotesque,  the 
absolutely  comical  and  the  horrible  connected  with 
this.  In  nature  and  animal  worship  no  artistic  rep- 
resentation was  demanded  ;  nor  is  it  at  all  proba- 
ble that  there  were  numerous  representations  of 
Deity  before  the  time  of  the  Greeks.  The  primi- 
tive memorial  was  often  nothing  more  than  a  board, 
a  stone  or  a  post.  It  is  a  significant  fact  that  all 
attempt  at  artistic  representation  of  Deity  prior  to 
the  Greeks  was  a  signal  failure.  This  I  believe  to 
be  entirely  owing  to  the  combined  personality  and 
morality  involved  in  the  conception.  Pure  abstract 
ideas,  such  as  are  involved  in  Architecture,  called 
forth  the  noblest  energies.  But  when  it  came  to 
the  portrayal  of  a  Moral  Being,  total  incapacity  was 
revealed.  Sculpture  was  the  chosen  Art  of  the 
Greeks  precisely  because  their  ideas  of  Personality 
were  more  clearly  defined  than  those  of  any  other 
people.  Their  statues  were  not  objects  of  worship 
in  the  same  sense  as  those  of  China,  Egypt,  or 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY.  jg^ 

India.  Theirs  was  preeminently  a  subjective  mind. 
Hence  we  find  in  their  history  the  culmination  of 
this  conflict  between  the  aesthetic  and  the  moral 
intuitions. 

The  Greeks,  it  must  be  remembered,  were  not  at 
all  contemptuous  of  the  good  to  be  obtained  out  of 
this  earthly  existence.  It  did  occur  to  them  that 
mental  power  could  be  more  acceptably  applied  to 
the  solution  of  the  problems  involved  in  character 
and  destiny  than  in  any  other  way.  But  their  Lit- 
erature, no  less  than  their  Sculpture,  testifies  to  a 
complete  failure  to  realize  this  aspiration.  Nothing 
more  unsatisfactory  can  be  conceived  than  the  rep- 
resentation of  life  and  its  tragic  issues  as  set  forth 
in  the  Greek  Drama.  Magnificent  thoughts,  evinc- 
ing the  grandest  conceptions  of  Divine  Power,  the 
terrible  strength  of  human  emotions,  as  well  as  their 
god-like  and  immortal .  tenderness,  are  scattered 
broadcast  and  conveyed  through  a  medium  which 
all  acknowledge  to  be  the  most  exquisite  instrument 
thought  has  known.  But  anything  like  a  consoling, 
consistent,  harmonious  conception  of  either  human 
or  Divine  character  is  wholly  lacking. 

In  Sculpture  their  genius  did  not  attempt  to  grapple 
with  the  complex  emotions  excited  by  real  life.  We 
speak  of  that  Art  in  its  maturity  and  vigor,  not  in  its 
decline.  It  is  its  glory  that  the  name  of  every  prom- 
inent divinity  or  deified  hero  and  heroine  might  be 
changed  to  the  personification  of  a  single  attribute 
of  character.  But  when  we  ask  its  moral  value,  we 


1 84 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


find  that  all  its  virtues  are  of  a  negative,  passive 
kind.  Its  charm  is  that  it  represents  passionless 
character.  It  is  the  absence  of  the  human,  naturally 
ungovernable  feeling  that  constitutes  its  greatness. 
The  very  marked  incongruity  between  the  life  and 
the  Art  of  this  people  has  led  to  the  most  erroneous 
conclusions  that  have  ever  been  drawn  from  a  study 
of  the  Beautiful.  Distinguished  writers,  quoting  the 
testimony  of  such  contemporaries  of  the  times  as 
Socrates,  Cato,  and  Plutarch,  make  the  statement 
that  the  works  of  Sculpture  were  productive  of  a 
corruption  of  feelings  and  morals  that  is  scarcely 
credible.  This  I  believe  to  be  an  illustration  of 
the  extent  to  which  Truth  may  be  distorted.  It  was 
not  the  Sculpture  itself  that  corrupted  character. 
Nor,  if  we  may  believe  those  who  have  made  the 
most  careful  study  of  the  subject,  was  it  the  manner 
of  life  which  the  Greeks  thought  necessary  for  the 
proper  cultivation  of  this  Art.  Their  apotheosis  of 
the  body  may  seem  to  us  even  more  worthy  of  con- 
demnation than  its  opposite  extreme — that  degrada- 
tion of  the  body  which  was  advocated  in  the  Middle 
Ages — and  in  any  case  must  seem  petty  and  child- 
ish. But  no  one  can  look  on  the  fragments  of  Art 
that  remain  and  believe  they  were  ever  capable  of 
producing  corrupt  feeling.  The  Venus  de  Medici 
herself  might  be  recognized  under  the  title  of  Mod- 
esty— or  rather,  let  us  say,  an  exalted  Purity  which 
knows  nothing  of  the  sense  of  shame.  All  artists 
worthy  of  the  name  understand  their  province,  and 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY.  185 

when  they  overstep  its  bounds  and  try  to  make  the 
immoral  admirable,  no  connoisseur,  be  he  gifted  with 
superhuman  energy,  can  get  such  work  admitted  to 
the  world's  Parnassus.  Those  who  fear  deleterious 
effects  from  too  great  familiarity  with  the  nude  stat- 
ues of  Greece  or  any  country  that  has  imitated 
Greece  *  do  not  apprehend  the  true  scope  and  aim 
of  Sculpture.  The  nude  figure  in  Painting  is  ob- 
jectionable for  the  very  reason  that  it  is  not  so  in 
Sculpture — that  it  cannot  be  idealized  to  the  same 
advantage.  The  relation  which  the  marble  statue 
bears  to  the  living  form  has  been  compared  by  a 
favorite  author  to  that  which  a  winter's  day  bears  to 
its  "  sister  of  the  happier  time."  The  sense  of  beauty 
it  awakens  is  more  abstract :  "  it  lifts  the  soul  into 


*  The  employment  of  "  life-models  "  in  Schools  of  Art  has 
given  rise  to  much  controversy  and  is  deemed  thoroughly  de- 
moralizing by  many  who  have  thought  and  written  on  the  sub- 
ject. While  it  is  undeniable  that  some  evil  influences  must 
accompany  the  practice,  we  must  in  fairness  face  the  fact  that 
the  objections  urged  are  to  be  ascribed  wholly  to  inveterate 
prejudice ;  for  we  find  the  same  people  not  at  all  averse  to  the 
study  of  the  human  body  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  though 
it  is  a  notorious  fact  that  students  of  Medicine  are  more  im- 
moral than  students  of  Art.  If  it  be  urged  that  the  women 
who  act  as  life-models  are  degraded  by  such  a  practice,  this 
kind  of  demoralization  has  its  parallel,  also,  in  the  attendance 
of  male  physicians  upon  women — a  practice  which  to  the  un- 
prejudiced mind  is  as  revolting  as  any  that  can  be  named. 
And  still  further,  if  it  be  said  that  the  good  far  outweighs  the 
evil  in  this  last  custom  and  that  we  must  learn  to  subordinate 


j86  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

a  higher  region  than  will  summer  day  of  lordliest 
splendor.  It  is  like  the  love  that  loss  has  puri- 
fied." 

In  the  case  of  the  Greeks,  that  the  immoral 
tendencies  of  the  age  did  not  destroy  all  noble  as- 
pirations and  blunt  even  the  perception  of  the  Beau- 
tiful excites  the  wonder  of  the  unbiased  mind.  In 
modern  times,  taught  as  we  are  to  look  upon  every- 
thing from  a  lofty  moral  stand-point,  so  prominently 
does  this  immoral  association  come  before  us  that 
it  has  been  allowed  to  usurp  entire  dominion,  and 
consequently  the  best  thought  has  never  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  this  subject.  The  true  spirit- 
ual teaching  of  all  works  of  genius  has  not  been  in- 
sisted upon.  The  power  which  should  have  been 


the  trivial  to  the  essential,  with  how  much  more  force  can  the 
artist  urge  the  subordination  of  the  physical  to  the  spiritual  and 
the  comparatively  evanescent  effects  of  a  practice,  which,  from 
the  very  nature  of  the  case,  must  prevail  on  so  limited  a  scale? 
We  certainly  believe  that  in  countless  cases  prejudice  and  cus- 
tom succeed  perfectly  in  searing  the  moral  delicacy  of  the  phy- 
sician and  his  patient,  and  we  find  it  much  easier  to  believe 
that  enthusiasm  and  impersonality  (for  the  model  is  invariably 
masked)  do  away  with  everything  objectionable  in  the  artist's 
studio.  "  Life  study  "  may  be  condemned  by  the  moralist  on 
the  ground  that  the  Art  of  Sculpture  is  not  in  accordance  with 
our  modern  civilization.  But  it  is  hard  to  see  how  it  can  be 
condemned  by  the  non-professional  on  the  charge  of  immoral- 
ity while  he  condones  or  winks  at  similar  practices  of  far  more 
powerful  influence,  for  this  shows  at  once  that  he  urges  his 
objections  simply  because  he  does  not  care  for  Art. 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


I87 


drawn  from  this  almost  inexhaustible  source  has 
been  lost  :  partly,  of  course,  through  the  general  in- 
ability to  exercise  that  form  of  mental  activity 
known  as  abstraction,  but  greatly  through  a  mis- 
taken zeal,  /.  f.,  a  systematic  attempt  to  keep  men 
from  the  cultivation  of  this  power.  It  is  no  un- 
common thing  to  see  modern  tourists  turn  away  from 
the  purest  Greek  Art — the  Elgin  Marbles,  the  Pallas 
of  Velletri,  the  Hera  of  Polykleitos — to  enthuse  over 
a  modern  fancy  of  a  Young  Girl  making  her  Morn- 
ing Toilet.  This  is  generally  ascribed  to  a  want  of 
culture.  It  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  The  individual 
may  not  always  be  able  to  explain  his  candor  :  but 
there  is  undoubtedly  a  repulsive  element  in  all  the 
artistic  works  of  the  ancients — not  only  in  those  of 
Egypt  and  Assyria,  but  even  in  the  "  faultily  fault- 
less "  works  of  Greece — something  which  grates 
upon  the  modern  mind, — a  lack  of  moral  purpose, 
idea  or  desire. 

The  utilitarianism  of  the  Greeks  proved  as  a 
broken  reed  to  rest  upon,  and  as  far  as  their  own 
country  was  concerned,  their  brilliant  civilization 
proved  as  great  a  failure  as  that  of  any  other  country. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  try  to  postpone  the  crisis  of 
this  conflict  of  the  intuitions  to  the  time  of  Christian- 
ity. The  world  was  ready  and  waiting  for  what  the 
Germans  call  the  "  Religion  of  Morality".  The  en- 
lightened mind  of  that  city  which,  in  its  mad  endeav- 
or to  simulate  a  passion  for  the  Beautiful,  had  gath- 
ered together  70,000  statues, — more  statues,  in  fact, 


!88  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

than  people — was  fully  aware  of  its  lamentable 
weakness.  One  cannot  but  feel  that  the  gloomy 
skepticism  of  Caesar,  Cicero  and  Cato  was  rather 
creditable  to  them  than  otherwise.  What  was  there 
to  excite  faith  of  any  kind  ?  Statues  were  no  longer 
representations  of  gods,  but  of  men — and  men  who 
had  sinned.  The  agony  of  Laocoon  reflects  the 
troubled  mind  of  that  age  as  it  grappled  with  the 
awful  mysteries  of  sin  and  suffering.  Niobe  re- 
proaches the  gods  for  envying  the  happiness  of  a 
mortal  mother.  Indeed,  all  declining  Greek  Sculp- 
ture, as  well  as  mature  and  exultant  Roman  Art, 
anticipates  the  ascendency  of  the  moral  idea  over 
the  aesthetic,  and  wherever  this  occurs  the  real 
reign  of  Art  is  over.  The  Romans  tried  to  turn  to 
Architecture  for  consolation.  But  here,  alas !  we 
see  utilitarianism  invading  not  only  the  life  that  was 
kept  distinct  from  Art,  but  the  Art  itself.  This  with 
some  notable  exceptions,  for  in  the  noble  old  Pan- 
theon all  feel  awed  by  spiritual  influences,  of  no  or- 
dinary kind. 

Latin  Literature  (in  which  the  Roman  genius  took 
a  still  bolder  flight)  is  indeed  so  magnificent  in  its 
mere  form,  and,  for  reasons  unconnected  either  with 
Art  or  Morals,  has  since  been  found  so  valuable,  that 
no  possibility  of  its  ever  perishing  has  entered  the 
thoughts  of  men.  A  discussion  of  its  moral  value 
will  be  reserved  for  consideration  until  we  speak 
of  modern  times.  It  is  enough  now  to  note  that 
there  is  no  more  awful  picture  of  life  than  that  pre- 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


189 


sented  by  the  Romans  in  the  zenith  of  their  power. 
No  apologies,  be  they  glossed  over  with  transcend- 
ent eloquence,  avail  to  cover  up  the  lamentable 
weakness  of  that  life.  Students  of  refined  feeling 
and  chastened  thought  have  told  me  that  the  study 
of  Roman  History  as  depicted  by  Sallust,  Caesar, 
Merivale,  and  Gibbon  has  been  so  sickening  and  re- 
volting to  them,  that,  in  their  conscientious  fulfil- 
ment of  the  required  task,  they  were  rendered 
physically  ill. 

When  in  the  midst  of  gladiatorial  shows,  selfish, 
sensual  luxury  and  spiritual  degradation  of  the  vilest 
kind  prevailed  :  when  suicide  came  to  be  admired 
and  inculcated  by  the  most  enlightened  minds  of  the 
age  :  when,  in  view  of  intellectual  advantage,  we 
may  safely  say,  moral  character  had  reached  it,  low- 
est abyss,  then  indeed  the  world  was  ready  for 
Christianity.  This  is  not  the  epoch  of  conflict  be- 
tween Genius  and  Morality,  but  of  union,  in  so  far, 
at  least,  as  union  is  possible. 

Peace,  purity  in  the  domestic  relations,  unself- 
ishness, temperance,  spiritual  worship,  the  equality 
and  brotherhood  of  all  men  in  the  eyes  of  God,  and 
hence  the  elevation  of  the  poor,  despised,  enslaved 
classes  ;  the  sure  and  certain  hope  of  a  blessed  life 
beyond  the  grave ;  boundless  faith  in  One  who  had 
lived  on  earth  as  man,  and  hence  renewed  faith  in 
humanity — these  were  the  substitutes  Christianity 
offered  for  the  so-called  ideals  and  real  vices  of 
Paganism. 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


Theoretically,  what  could  appear  more  antago- 
nistic to  Art  as  it  had  been  known  than  Chris- 
tianity? Practically,  how  would  Art  have  been  re- 
suscitated but  for  Christianity  ? 

For  a  time,  indeed,  all  was  dark  and  drear.  There 
were  noble  abstract  speculations  in  the  world,  —  in 
Stoicism,  and  Neo-Platonism  as  well  as  in  Chris- 
tianity. But  the  mighty  force  of  the  new  morality, 
from  the  fact  that  it  touched  the  most  intimate,  per- 
sonal. intense  thoughts,  feelings  and  desires  of  our 
being,  bore  all  before  it.  Error  and  fanaticism  be- 
came more  and  more  glaring  in  proportion  to  the  in- 
tensity of  the  moral  struggle,  and  as  darkness  is 
never  so  dark  as  when  brought  in  juxtaposition  with 
light,  many  have  been  utterly  overcome  by  the  dark- 
ness and  unable  to  perceive,  still  less  to  rejoice,  in 
the  light.  The  idea  of  making  religion  —  the  religion 
of  morality  —  the  vocation  of  a  few,  while  the  rest  of 
the  world  indulged  in  the  grossest  sensuality,  has 
seemed  to  some  minds  the  culminating  error  not 
only  of  that  period,  but  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
The  mistake  could  not  have  been  made  had  not 
the  plane  of  being  been  changed,  shall  we  not  say 
elevated  ? 

The  great  characteristic  of  the  Christian  Era 
from  its  very  start  is  the  prominence  it  gave  and 
gives  to  the  individual  man.  The  History  of  the 
world,  the  experiment  of  evolving  or  educing  char- 
acter, seems  to  begin  over  again  on  a  different  basis, 
of  which  this  is  the  feature.  In  Egypt,  Assyria, 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY.  1gl 

China,  Hindostan,  even  in  Homeric  Greece,  as  well 
as  in  Carthage  and  Phoenicia  we  find  a  civilization, 
says  Grote,  "  in  mass,  without  the  acquisition  of  any 
high  mental  qualities  or  the  development  of  any  in- 
dividual genius  :  the  religious  and  political  sanction, 
sometimes  combined  and  sometimes  separate,  de- 
termined for  everyone  his  mode  of  life,  his  creed,  his 
duties,  and  his  place  in  society,  without  leaving  any 
scope  for  the  will  or  reason  of  the  agent  himself."  * 
All  of  this  was  done  away  with  by  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. Each  individual  must  solve  the  problem  of 
life  for  himself.  Upon  this  basis  Art  is  revived  and 
genius  is  henceforth  estimated.  Here,  again,  we  see 
reenacted  the  entire  order  of  things  involved  in  the 
relation  of  genuis  to  morality.  Hitherto  we  have 
studied  the  attitude  of  the  age  or  the  nation  towards 
the  Beautiful.  Now  we  come  to  the  far  more 


*  The  one  notable  exception  to  all  this — the  History  of  the 
Hebrew  people — forces  itself  upon  the  attention  here,  as  in  so 
many  other  instances.  In  no  connection  do  we  see  the  Divine 
origin  and  unity  of  Judaism  and  Christianity  more  clearly  than 
in  this.  The  religious  and  political  sanction  in  the  Jewish  sys- 
tem gave  the  greatest  possible  scope  for  the  will  and  reason 
of  the  individual.  In  the  fact  that  their  people,  their  masses, 
knew  what  it  was  to  enjoy  literature,  music,  domestic  life,  etc. 
we  see  how  totally  unlike  that  of  other  nations  was  the  ob- 
jective ideal  set  before  the  Jews,  and  how  the  moral  character 
of  this  ideal  prepared  the  way  for  the  establishment  of  Chris- 
tianity and  made  it  impossible,  humanly  speaking,  for  any 
other  people  to  receive  and  propagate  it. 


I Q2  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

weighty  consideration  of  the  attitude  of  the  individ- 
ual.    Now  we  scrutinize  the  man. 

It  is  impossible  to  avoid  the  acknowledgment  that 
here,  too,  ability  to  divine  the  essence  of  the  Beautiful 
(that  is,  its  spiritual  element)  is  not  attained  in  virtue  of 
moral  character.  Under  the  influence  of  Christian- 
ity men  entered  the  domains  of  both  Art  and  Morals 
with  a  ten-fold  impetuosity :  and  Morality,  in  so  far 
as  it  constituted  the  indispensable  element  of  the 
New  Religion,  exercised  a  sway  in  Art  never  known 
before.  But  as  in  the  destiny  of  the  Ancients  the 
love  of  the  Beautiful  affected  spiritual  aspiration, 
rather  than  practical  life — for  the  express  purpose 
of  demonstrating  the  superiority  of  the  spiritual  over 
the  moral  element  in  religion, — so  here,  too,  it  sways 
the  individual  heart.  It  is  not  necessary  to  refer  to 
the  lives  of  Cellini,  Ribera,  Machiavelli,  Titian,  the 
Borgias,  the  Medici,  and  so  on  through  a  long  list 
of  names  irrevocably  connected  with  the  might  and 
majesty  of  Art.  Taine  has  given  us  a  picture  of  life 
as  it  was  in  the  days  when  Art  had  reached  its 
climax.  I  do  not  think  anyone  will  feel  inclined  to 
uphold  it  as  the  representation  of  a  moral  life. 

Was  not  this  permitted  that  no  loop-hole  of  escape 
might  be  left  as  to  this  vital  question  of  morality 
and  beauty  ?  Guido,  who,  in  expressing  depth  of 
emotion,  melting  tenderness  and  heart-rending 
sorrow  (especially  in  characterizations  of  the  Ma- 
donna and  in  Crucifixions )  has  touched  the  uni- 
versal human  heart,  is  said  to  have  killed  a  man  in 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


193 


a  pure  burst  of  artistic  enthusiasm  to  obtain  the 
proper  expression  for  a  Crucifixion,  coolly  finishing 
the  work  while  his  fellow-man  struggled  with  his 
dying  agony.  When  we  remember  the  subjective 
and  objective  "  motiv  "  of  the  picture,  this  may  well 
stand  for  the  acme  of  the  tragic  antithesis  of  Art 
and  Morals. 

But,  turning  towards  another  view  of  the  subject, 
we  remember  a  name  which  in  its  glorious  spotless- 
ness  seems  almost  able  to  redeem  the  corruption  of 
an  age.  Of  course  I  mean  that  of  Michael  Angelo. 
Yet  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  "  he  who  was  so  good, 
so  religious,  so  pure-minded  and  so  high-minded  " 
did  not  succeed  in  giving  the  world  any  satisfying 
representation  either  of  Mary  or  of  Christ — the 
highest  themes  Art  ever  can  or  will  know.  This 
suggests  one  of  the  profoundest  thoughts  that  can 
engage  the  human  mind — the  probability  that  the 
true  grandeur  of  the  spiritual  life  can  only  be  re- 
vealed to  man  through  sin.  Can  any  but  the  tired 
tell  of  rest  ?  Who  but  a  penitent  could  paint  Divine 
Forgiveness  ?  Mrs.  Jameson  suggests  a  solution  of 
Michael  Angelo's  failure  in  the  idea  that  his  morals 
escaped  the  pollution  of  the  age  at  the  expense  of 
his  imagination.  I  think  his  own  essential  moral 
purity  would  have  rendered  it  impossible  in  any  age 
for  him  to  depict  the  Friend  of  Sinners.  I  do  not 
apprehend  anything  dangerous  in  this  idea.  For 
no  one  ever  will  contemplate  elevating  the  world  by 
means  of  deliberate  sin,  But  we  who  are  at  liberty 
'3 


194 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


now  to  ask  the  meaning  of  the  apparent  union  of 
genius  with  immorality,  and  must  account  for  it  (for 
every  life  is  influenced  by  this  question),  cannot  fail 
to  find  a  wonderful  satisfaction  in  this  explanation. 
The  genuis  of  Ruskin  reminds  one  of  Michael 
Angelo's,  proving  that  this  question  has  nothing  to 
do  with  any  particular  age.  There  is  something  so 
pure,  so  cold,  unsympathetic  and  uncompassionate 
in  the  conscious  rectitude  of  such  natures,  that  we 
feel  at  once  they  can  never  fathom  all  that  is  in  the 
human  heart  or  bring  the  world  any  real  message  of 
comfort.  Hawthorne,  in  the  guise  of  a  dreamy 
romance  and  under  the  veil  of  an  inapproachable 
indefiniteness,  boldly  advances  the  idea  that  there 
are  natures  which  can  only  awake  to  a  conscious- 
ness of  moral  responsibility  by  sinning ;  that  it  is 
possible  to  rise  in  the  scale  of  being  through  crime. 
George  Macdonald's  eagle-eyed  penetration  divines 
the  essence  of  the  Gospel  teaching  to  be  summed 
up  in  the  enunciation  that  "  no  indulgence  of  pas- 
sion destroys  the  spiritual  nature  so  much  as  re- 
spectable selfishness  ;  "  the  logical  conclusion  of 
which  is  that  morality  may  even  act  as  a  barrier  to 
the  comprehension  of  a  higher  form  of  life.  The 
very  shamelessness  with  which  Byron  exposes  all 
that  is  in  his  heart  is  a  guarantee  for  the  conscious- 
ness of  some  spiritual  nobility.  I  feel  perfectly  safe 
in  saying  this,  for  the  morbid  scrutiny  to  which 
Byron's  immoral  life  has  been  subjected  has  brought 
about  an  almost  universal  depreciation  of  his  genius, 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


195 


and  it  may  be  well  to  state  the  case  as  strongly  as 
possible  if  only  to  test  the  possibility  of  reawakening 
an  interest  in  that  immortal  genius.  It  is  certainly 
an  intensely  interesting  thing  to  find  that  Byron's 
best  Poetry  (and  no  one  asks  that  any  but  the  best 
should  be  read)  is  penetrated  and  interpenetrated 
with  the  sturdiest  old  English  Theology — that  noble 
conception  of  spiritual  and  moral  union  in  religion 
which  has  withstood  tests  innumerable  and  still 
triumphs  over  opposition  of  every  kind :  so  that 
while  there  may  be  emotional  scepticism,  bearing 
fruit  in  actual  immorality,  there  is  the  firmest  intel- 
lectual faith  in  that  idealism  which  is  at  the  foun- 
dation of  all  goodness.  Intellectual  generosity  and 
spiritual  magnanimity  are  taxed  to  the  utmost  when, 
confronted  by  Rousseau's  disgusting,  loathsome 
life,  we  are  asked  to  acknowledge  that  he  has  said 
some  of  the  most  deeply  and  truly  religious  things 
that  it  has  ever  entered  the  thoughts  of  man  to 
utter. 

While  the  same  phase  of  the  fact  may  present  it- 
self at  any  time  in  the  world's  history,  we  take  the 
development  beginning  with  the  Christian  Empire 
and  culminating  in  the  Sixteenth  Century  as  espe- 
cially designed  to  show  the  world  that  Art  does  not 
exist  in  the  interests  of  morality.  There  is  a  final- 
ity about  the  experiment  then  made  which  silences 
the  very  idea  of  any  repetition.  If  as  the  exponent 
of  a  Religion  whose  cardinal  feature  is  morality  it 
could  accomplish  so  little  (and  that  by  means  the 


!Q6  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

most  indirect  imaginable)  for  the  moral  welfare  of 
the  race,  there  is  no  doubt  about  its  failure  when 
joined  to  any  other  interest. 

Not  only  were  all  the  Arts — Architecture,  Sculpture 
Painting,  Music  and  Poetry — "  born  again  "  through 
Christianity;  human  destiny  itself  was  metamor- 
phosed. But  not  until  every  other  phase  of  self- 
development  had  proved  a  mockery  did  it  dawn  upon 
the  mind  of  man  that  of  all  attainments  morality 
is  incomparably  the  noblest ;  and  that  of  all  lofty 
attainments  from  none  are  men  farther  removed  by 
nature  than  from  this  noble  acquisition.  Life,  prac- 
tical, prosaic,  daily  life  is  found,  after  all,  to  de- 
mand the  sublimest  energies  we  can  possibly  put 
forth ;  and  henceforth  the  gifts  which  do  not  tend 
towards  a  solution  of  this  problem  are  consigned  to 
a  position  of  marked  inferiority.  When  we  recall 
some  of  the  evils  that  have  existed  on  earth  as  an 
established  order  of  things,  affecting  (i.e.  making 
wretched)  the  destiny  of  millions ; — still  more, 
when  we  remember  as  a  matter  of  knowledge  be- 
fore experience,  that  there  is  no  sin  of  which  we  are 
not  capable,  and  draw  the  comparison  with  what  is 
now  going  on  in  the  civilized  countries  of  the  globe, 
we  are  forced  to  confess  that  there  is  something 
rather  admirable  in  human  nature  after  all ;  or, 
better  still,  that  but  for  a  Divine  superintendence, 
our  race  must  long  ere  this  have  perished  ignomin- 
iously. 

The  Invention  of  Printing,  to  which  I  have  as- 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


I97 


signed  a  revolutionizing  influence,  though  brought 
about  most  indirectly  by  moral  motives,  and  attain- 
ing the  maximum  of  its  power  only  after  the  lapse 
of  considerable  time,  is  undoubtedly  to  be  esti- 
mated at  its  origin  as  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in 
the  interests  of  morality  which  the  world  has 
known.  Humanity  is  the  Scholastic  definition  of 
Literature,  and  in  this  we  see  the  anticipation  of  all 
that  was  to  be  involved  in  the  great  discovery  which 
went  hand  in  hand  with  the  Revival  of  Learning 
and  the  Great  Reformation.*  Before  this  there 
had  been  nothing  to  excite  a  wide-spread,  far-reach- 
ing intellectual  activity,  nor  anything  comparable 
to  an  intelligent  discussion  of  personal  interests  ; 
and  though  this  was  only  gradually  effected,  the 
tendency  made  itself  perceptible  from  the  very 
start. 

We  see  the  effects  of  this  tendency  in  the  decline 
of  enthusiasm  for  Art.  Italy,  Spain,  Holland, 
France,  and  even  Germany  had  exercised  a  magic 
sway  over  the  human  mind  by  means  of  Art.  It 
remained  for  England,  more  than  ordinarily  deficient 


*  My  reason  for  not  dwelling  upon  the  Protestant  Revolu- 
tion as  a  cause  of  moral  progress  (and,  consequently,  artistic 
decline)  is  that  I  wish  never  to  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  this 
Reformation  originated  in  the  Church  ;  not  out  of  it,  as  too 
many  are  in  the  habit  of  thinking.  It  was  an  essential  devel- 
opment of  the  Religion  of  Morality,  and  the  student  of  His- 
tory is  perfectly  familiar  with  the  many  anticipations  of  it  all 
along  the  ages. 


198  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

as  a  nation  in  artistic  perception,  and  conversely, 
superior  to  any  people  on  the  globe  in  moral  attain- 
ment and  enthusiasm,  to  discover  to  the  world  its 
most  valuable  treasure  and  its  most  enduring  glory. 
A  world  of  thought  lies  enshrined  in  the  beautiful 
allegory  of  "  Corinne,"  in  which  the  characters  of 
Oswald  and  Corinne  personify  England  and  Italy, 
each  utterly  incapable  of  understanding  the  other 
on  these  all-important  subjects  of  the  Beautiful  and 
the  Right.  But  if  England  has  had  to  go  to  other 
countries  for  Art  and  must  always  see  her  own  Art 
estimated  upon  other  than  artistic  grounds,  it  is 
quite  as  true  that  other  nations  must  come  to  her  to 
understand  all  that  is  best  in  life  itself.  Such  an 
experiment  as  that  of  Puritanism  could  never  have 
been  made  in  a  nation  whose  grand  characteristic 
was  not  morality.  Instead  of  violent  and  lasting 
reaction  against  such  fanaticism,  we  find  on  the  side 
of  this  only  a  passing  recoil,  and  on  the  side  of  Art 
only  the  clinching  of  ineradicable  prejudice.  Men 
were  not  far  enough  removed  from  the  immediate 
effects  to  judge  dispassionately  of  the  final  conse- 
quences of  the  great  question  which  was  then  upper- 
most before  the  world  :  has  genius  more  affinity  with 
evil  than  with  good  ?  Hence  the  Puritans  decided 
that  it  had.  They  saw  that  genius  was  not  allied 
with  morality,  and  so  transcendently  important  did 
the  Right  seem  to  them,  that  they  undertook  the 
task  of  destroying,  blighting,  denying  all  those  more 
subtle,  spiritual,  disinterested  sources  of  thought 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


199 


and  feeling  which  have  to  do  with  the  Beautiful. 
Puritanism  was  a  thousand  times  more  iconoclastic 
than  Protestantism.  It  aimed  not  at  the  vesture, 
but  at  the  very  spirit  of  Art.  In  this,  of  course,  it 
overreached  itself.  But  the  wonder  is  that  it  did 
not  give  the  pleasure-loving  world  a  new  and  lasting 
impetus  toward  vice.  Who  but  the  phlegmatic 
English  could  have  gotten  all  the  good  that  was  to 
be  obtained,  made  the  best  that  could  be  made,  out 
of  such  an  experiment,  and  stood  "  erect  and  free  " 
when  extricated  from  such  toils  ?  The  influence  of 
Puritanism  has  extended  wherever  the  English  lan- 
guage is  spoken  :  its  formal  morality  has  so  tri- 
umphed over  the  spiritual  perceptions  which  are 
allied  with  the  aesthetic  intuition,  and  so  permeated 
English  Literature,  that  not  only  have  other  nations 
— particularly  France — given  the  world  incontest- 
ably  finer  Devotional  Literature,  but  there  are  want- 
ing in  the  English  language,  itself,  words  to  express 
the  more  elevated,  purified,  spiritualized  experiences 
of  the  soul. 

But  this  English  earnestness  has  had  an  incalcu- 
lable influence,  and  has  compelled  the  few  who 
could  understand  its  significance  to  tell  the  world 
— since  no  compromise  of  these  ideals  could  be 
effected, — the  real  meaning  to  be  found  in  Art. 
The  Germans  glory  in  the  fact  that  their  own  great 
countryman  was  born  into  the  world  to  respond  to 
this  demand  and  boldly  tell  it  that  "  Art  has  no 
aim."  This  is  justly  considered  one  of  the  grand- 


2QO  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

est  contributions  that  has  been  made  to  modern 
thought.  That  Art  should  exist  for  itself — should 
contain  within  itself  something  able  to  account  for 
and  justify  its  existence — forces  all  who  can  think 
at  all  into  the  very  strongholds  of  Thought. 

As  if  to  reinforce  the  awakening  conviction,  the 
Art  of  Music  is  perfected  in  these  latter  days.  And 
now  recommences  the  old  struggle,  the  vain  en- 
deavor to  undertake  to  prove  that  Music  is  elevating 
to  the  character,  refining  and  ennobling  in  social 
and  domestic  intercourse,  morally  beneficial  to  the 
nation  at  large.  The  poor  old  theory  is  almost  torn 
to  shreds  by  the  practical  defeats  it  has  had  to  sus- 
tain. For  if  anything  is  proved,  it  is  that  Music  is 
enervating  to  the  character,  constantly  deprived  of 
its  ideal  aims  in  social  intercourse,  and  utterly  pow- 
erless to  help  a  nation  (as  in  the  case  of  Germany 
and  Italy)  rise  in  the  scale  of  being.  There  is  no 
influence  so  vague,  evanescent  and  unpractical  as 
that  produced  by  Music.  The  boasted  power  of 
martial  music  lies  in  the  inspiration  of  the  moment : 
it  may  help  a  man  to  do  what  he  has  already  re- 
solved to  do  :  but  no  one  pretends  that  this  passing 
enthusiasm  is  the  real  instigator  of  action  :  and  no 
one  ought  to  be  permitted  to  forget  that  the  "  Mar- 
seillaise "  was  sung  in  suppressing  the  Insurrection 
of  La  Vende'e.  This  last  attempt  to  make  Art  ac- 
complish what  nothing  but  strenuous,  painful,  indi- 
vidual moral  effort  can  do  utterly  breaks  down  under 
the  demand.  Now  all  are  beginning  to  see  that  if 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY.  2ot 

practical  good  is  to  come  from  Music,  it  must  be 
when  that  Art  leans  for  support  upon  the  most 
firmly  established  morals,  and  not  when  used  as  a 
lever  for  the  elevation  of  morals. 

The  world  can  no  longer  trust  to  the  vague  intel- 
lectual influences  that  have  ever  addressed  them- 
selves to  the  few.  Something  must  be  done  with 
the  people — the  great  mass  of  mankind  who  labor 
that  the  few  may  enjoy.  We  will  not  say  something 
must  be  done  in  self-defence.  I  want  especially  to 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  by  the  natural  unfold- 
ing of  moral  ideas  under  the  guidance  of  Divine 
Providence  the  world  recognizes  the  drift  and  ten- 
dency of  its  destiny.  The  man  of  intellect  sees  that 
if  there  is  such  a  thing  as  progress  it  is  from  the 
Pyramid  downward, — from  the  absorption  of  the  in- 
ferior-many for  the  glory  of  the  superior-few  to  the 
absorption  of  the  superior-few  for  the  glory  of  the 
inferior-many  :  from  the  admiration  excited  by  the 
overpowering,  the  colossal  in  external  manifestation, 
to  that  elicited  by  personal  obedience  to  the  "  still, 
small  voice."  Under  the  sway  of  this  conviction 
the  noble  picture  is  transferred  from  the  cloister  to 
the  Art-Gallery :  that  is,  no  longer  forced  into  the 
service  of  an  exclusive  system,  but  brought  out  in 
the  widest  of  all  provinces,  to  stand  upon  its  own 
merits  and  prove  that  it  has  a  value  for  this  age  in- 
dependent of  all  that  has  gone  before.  To  know 
that  this  is  proved  we  have  only  to  look  at  the  num- 
bers who  rush  to  Europe  every  year  to  worship  at 


202  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

the  shrine  of  Art  alone,  utterly  oblivious  of  the 
dogmas  once  bound  up  with  the  existence  of  that 
Art. 

It  is  only  by  thus  reviewing  the  past  that  I  could 
hope  to  make  my  initiatory  statement — that  moral 
culture  is  the  characteristic  ideal  of  our  age — fully 
understood.  Having  established  this  position  rel- 
atively, it  becomes  no  easy  task  to  point  out  the 
actual  steps  in  the  progress  indicated,  for  the  great 
changes  that  have  taken  place  in  public  opinion 
during  the  last  half-century  have  followed  each 
other  with  such  lightning-like  rapidity,  that  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  trace  them. 

One  that  has  affected  all  our  ideals  and  standards 
of  life  has  been  caused  by  the  Intellectual  Educa- 
tion of  women.  In  General  History  women  have 
always  constituted  a  caste — this  being  the  inter- 
pretation put  upon  physical  constitution.  All  agree 
that  the  intellectual  power  they  have  wielded  has 
been  indirect,  underhanded,  deceptive  in  form  that 
it  might  be  the  more  effective  in  spirit.*  But  the 
moral  education  of  women  has  always  received 
more  attention  than  that  of  men,  for  whatever  may 


*  The  permission  to  cultivate  the  emotional  at  the  expense 
of  the  intellectual  nature  gave  such  strength  and  impetus  to 
the  passions  of  women,  that  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
determine  now  whether  they  ever  had  any  such  strength  origi- 
nally. The  world  thought  it  was  profiting  by  this  permission  ; 
none  but  the  well  read  Historian  knows  how  dearly  it  has 
paid  for  it. 


GENIUS  AND  MOKALITY.  203 

be  the  sum-total  of  the  as-yet  undefined  differences 
attributable  to  sex,  we  are  beginning  to  formulate 
what  must  have  acted  as  an  unconscious  motive  in 
former  times — the  instinctive  feeling  that  wicked- 
ness in  women*  is  far  more  fatal  to  the  general 
happiness  than  wickedness  in  men.  Of  course  this 
moral  education  which  the  world  confers  has  been 
conventional  and,  in  the  most  pronounced  sense  of 
the  word,  superficial.  But  it  has  brought  about  no 
ordinary  results.  The  first  attempts  in  intellectual 
culture  revealed  the  force  of  this  training.  As  men 
then  occupied  the  position  of  teachers  in  all  but 
rudimentary  knowledge,  young  women  were  obliged 
to  have  recourse  to  their  instruction.  But  in  studies 
dealing  with  Art  and  Character,  to  take  but  a  sin- 
gle instance,  as  in  the  case  of  Latin  Literature,  this 
was  found  to  be  highly  objectionable.  No  refined 
girl  could  make  a  thorough  study  of  Horace,  Ovid, 
Catullus  or  even  Virgil  with  a  gentleman  without 
doing  violence  to  her  most  sacred  feelings  of  pro- 
priety. It  was  not  until  repeated  failures  proved 

*  There  are  not  wanting  those  who  assign  an  inferior  moral 
perception  to  the  sex  as  a  sex.  Indeed  a  distinguished 
educator,  basing  her  system  of  instruction  upon  this  idea — 
from  which  premise  the  necessity  of  superior  and  energetic 
moral  training  instantly  follows — has  frankly  acknowledged 
this  to  be  the  cause  of  a  very  remarkable  success  in  her  Pro- 
fession. But  here,  again,  the  bias  given  by  ignorance,  preju- 
dice and  absurd  modes  of  thought  must  prevent  anything  like 
the  formation  of  a  satisfactory  general  theory. 


204  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

the  undesirability,  if  not  impracticability,  of  this 
method,  and  brave  women,  calling  into  use  all  the 
skill  and  diplomacy  of  their  natures  to  obtain  the 
necessary  knowledge  and  yet  escape  the  concomi- 
tant confusion,  succeeded  in  educating  themselves 
as  teachers,  that  women,  as  a  class  had  access  to 
Roman  Literature.  But  the  revelation  that  Ancient 
Literature  had  been  written  by  men  for  men,  ex- 
tolled sins  too  abominable  to  think  of  even  for  an 
instant,  held  up  for  admiration  and  indulged  itself 
in  modes  of  thought  and  feeling  which  if  now 
adopted  would  overthrow  all  our  social  and  domes- 
tic happiness  in  a  moment,  in  a  word,  was  devoid 
of  all  pure  morality,  did  not  stop  here.  The  very 
showing  up  of  the  contrast  has  not  only  excited  the 
intensest  admiration  for  the  pure  and  sublime 
morality  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  but 
drawn  the  influence  of  that  morality  into  all  that  is 
now  considered  good  Literature.  Compare  the 
Victorian  Literature  with  that  of  Queen  Anne,  no, 
with  that  of  George  IV.  and  William  IV.,  and  you 
will  have  no  difficulty  in  discerning  that  the  one 
possesses  just  what  the  other  lacks — a  moral  ear- 
nestness and  a  consequent  mental  elevation  which 
are  to  be  ascribed  wholly  to  the  suggestions  of 
educated  women. 

This  comparison  of  Literatures,  ancient  and  mod- 
ern, called  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  were  in 
the  world  two  distinct  standards  of  morality, — one 
for  women  and  one  for  men.  This  was  as  clearly 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


205 


defined  as  the  fact  that  there  had  been  two  stand- 
ards of  intellectual  culture.  Now  it  was  dimly  dis- 
cerned from  the  very  first  that  the  change  in  the 
intellectual  culture  of  women  would  necessitate  the 
change  in  the  moral  attainment  of  men.  And 
though  this  irritated  the  prejudices  and  excited  the 
most  violent  opposition  of  both  sexes,  we  have  lived 
to  see  in  the  last  fifteen  years  the  most  extraordi- 
nary changes  that  have  ever  been  brought  about  in 
this  direction.  Nothing  has  so  tested  the  strength 
of  the  moral  impetus  of  our  age  as  this.  That  it 
has  successfully  endured  the  test  is  something  of 
which  it  may  be  justly  proud. 

Of  women's  actual  moral  work  in  Literature  it 
would  be  impossible  to  treat  within  the  scope  of 
this  article  without  digressing  too  widely  from  our 
subject.  They  have  been  accused  of  inaugurating  a 
new  epoch  in  Fiction  and  touching  upon  questions 
which  are  as  perilous  as  they  are  unanswerable. 
But  time  alone  can  prove  whether  the  said  questions 
are  unsolvable.  In  the  mean  time  we  study  them 
with  avidity. 

One  branch  of  their  work  in  this  direction  is,  how- 
ever, too  often  overlooked.  I  mean  their  writings 
for  the  young.  No  estimate  can  possibly  be  made 
of  the  bias  given  to  youthful  character  by  such 
books  as  those  of  Mrs.  Charles,  Miss  Yonge,  Mrs. 
Carey  Brock,  Miss  Sewell,  Miss  Tucker,  and  many 
others  who  have  written  scores  of  fascinating  vol- 
umes, and  invariably  devoted  their  entire  mental  en- 


206  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ergy  to  the  delineation  of  ideal  moral  character.  So 
highly  do  I,  myself,  estimate  the  effect  of  such 
books,  that  I  deem  them  an  almost  infallible  safe- 
guard for  the  youth  of  both  sexes. 

The  supply  cannot  defeat  the  aims  of  the  demand. 
All  the  arts  are  now  pressed  into  the  service  of 
morality.  Hence  the  most  striking  fact  which  pre- 
sents itself  in  this  age  is  that  intellectual  power  is 
no  longer  expressed  through  the  form  of  Art.  We 
now  recognize  a  distinct  difference  between  genius 
and  intellect.  Genius  sees  intuitively,  intellect  ex- 
perimentally. Genius  belongs  to  the  seer,  intellect 
to  the  reasoner.  The  one  acts  instinctively,  the 
other  reflectively.  Of  course  I  do  not  pretend  to 
say  that  we  shall  have  no  more  works  of  genius. 
But  I  do  say  that  genius  has  performed  a  work 
in  the  world  which,  as  a  whole,  seems  to  be  re- 
garded as  final :  while  all  see  that  there  is  yet  an 
immense  amount  of  work  for  the  intellect  to  accom- 
plish, waiving  a  '  What  then  ? '  to  the  boundary 
lines  of  an  illimitable  future. 

Intellectual  power  finds  its  medium  in  Literature 
to-day  precisely  because  Literature,  so  far  from  exist- 
ing for  its  own  sake,  is  now  the  weapon  in  every 
shape  and  form  of  moral  Reformation.  Writing  for 
the  sake  of  writing,  as  it  is  called,  now  brings  a 
weary,  pitying  kind  of  smile  to  every  face.  Still 
further,  the  identification  of  the  author's  person- 
ality with  his  writings  is  the  theme  of  universal 
interest  in  Literature.  It  is  safe  to  say  moral 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


207 


enthusiasm  can  go  no  farther  than  this.  When 
ordinary  readers  must  scrutinize,  dissect,  weigh, 
balance,  condemn  or  extenuate  the  most  intimate 
motives  of  a  writer's  life,  we  are  forced  to  confess 
that  everything  is  bounded  by  character. 

Every  generation  is  now  demanding  with  reit- 
erated intensity  that  the  character  of  the  writer  shall 
correspond  to  the  truth  he  inculcates.  This  ex- 
plains the  otherwise  inexplicable  failure  of  Goethe's 
influence.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  would  be  pos- 
sible for  the  charms  of  fancy  to  throw  any  glamor 
over  his  life.  All  that  I  do  know  is  that  what  we 
learn  of  his  life  from  his  friends  (though  it  is  hard 
to  believe  G.  H.  Lewes  was  a  friend)  disgusts  us 
forever  with  the  man  and  all  that  he  had  to  do  or 
say  :  so  that  while  there  are  a  few  who  are  able  to 
appreciate  and  enjoy  his  intellectual  enlightenment, 
the  many  scorn  and  despise  it.  Again,  so  grate- 
fully is  moral  force  of  character  perceived  in  Liter- 
ature that  Ruskin,  coming  before  us  as  an  Art-critic 
to  make  light  of  The  Transfiguration  and  rave  over 
Turner  and  the  Preraphaelites,  is  embraced  with 
tenderest  affection, — not  because  the  world  is  in 
the  least  affected  by  his  artistic  bigotry,  but  because 
in  every  line  he  reveals  a  noble,  whole-souled  sin- 
cerity and  an  absolute  purity  of  character  that  are 
almost  without  a  parallel  in  any  age. 

For  a  while  people  said :  "  What  is  the  matter 
with  Carlyle  ?  "  Now  the  very  children  are  begin- 
ning to  tell  us  :  "  Nothing  in  the  world  except  that 


2o8  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

he  was  not  a  Christian."  And  just  so  far  as  he 
lacked  that  practical  application  of  truth  in  his  own 
life,  has  his  influence  fallen  powerless  on  this  age. 
We  can  no  longer  speculate  as  to  whether  this  prac- 
tical application  ever  will  be  made.  It  .has  been 
made.  Among  many  instances,  we  have  an  exquis- 
ite illustration  of  it  in  the  life  and  genius  of  Frances 
Ridley  Havergal.  Though  all  the  leading  English 
Reviews,  in  which  Miss  Havergal's  poems  were 
wont  to  appear  from  time  to  time,  called  for  a  clear 
analysis  of  them  at  the  time  of  her  death,  the  critics 
studying  these  poems  from  an  artistic  stand-point 
confessed  themselves  greatly  baffled.  This  is  a 
striking  instance  in  which  the  life  must  interpret  the 
writings.  The  young  girl  who  read  Hebrew,  Greek 
and  Latin,  easily  carried  off  prizes  in  a  German 
school  when  competing  with  Germans  in  their  na- 
tive language  ;  threw  her  own  hymns  into  French  or 
Italian  verse  on  the  spur  of  the  moment ;  excelled 
in  Thorough  Bass  to  the  extent  of  surprising  Hiller 
(the  greatest  Counter-pointest  of  the  day)  and  in  the 
Art  itself  to  the  extent  of  playing  the  whole  of 
Handel,  much  of  Beethoven  and  much  of  Men- 
delssohn without  notes,  took  this  brilliant  intellect- 
ual power  and  made  it  serve  the  noblest  purposes 
imaginable — purposes  which  an  Angel  might  envy, 
if  that  were  possible.  I  do  not  mean  that  she  "  ex- 
ercised her  talents  for  the  highest  good  of  others." 
Many  have  done  that.  Deliberately  turning  away 
from  artistic  expression,  which  she  had  proved  was 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


209 


in  her  power,  and  not  simply  to  the  work  of  spiritual 
exposition  or  lofty  moral  inculcation,  this  intensely 
energetic  nature  forced  her  entire  mental  ability  to 
subordinate  itself  to  the  actual  religious  experience 
which  she  herself  had  known  :  so  that  she  describes 
the  writing  of  every  line  of  her  Poems  as  producing 
the  impression  upon  herself  of  a  special  provision 
from  Heaven.  I  do  not  believe  it  is  possible  to 
conceive  of  a  more  beautiful,  a  more  perfect  life 
than  this,  and  its  practical  influence  is  incalculable. 
In  Australia,  in  South  America,  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific  on  our  own  broad  continent,  yes, 
wherever  civilization  has  penetrated,  the  books  of 
this  noble  writer  have  been  carried,  not  simply  to 
be  read,  but  to  be  used  as  text-books  in  the  school 
of  life.  What  do  we  care  that  those  who  have  at 
their  command  everything  that  the  world  can  give 
should  be  entertained,  enlivened,  or  even  elevated 
by  the  grand  and  glorious  expressions  of  genius  in 
Art  ?  We  think  it  is  time  those  who  have  nothing 
should  be  comforted. 

The  passion  for  Natural  Science  is  an  indication 
of  the  prevailing  admiration  for  morality.  The  pas- 
sion for  glory  and  the  passion  for  science  are 
opposites  ;  the  one  is  due  to  the  lack  of  self-suffi- 
ciency, the  other  to  the  abundance  of  it.  Science 
opens  up  a  world  of  delight  in  which  self,  i.e. 
human  personality,  plays  no  part.  It  has  turned 
men's  thoughts  away  from  that  morbid  self-introspec- 
tion, that  endless  self-questioning  which  have  to  do 
M 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


with  the  contemplative  life  of  genius  rather  than 
the  active  life  of  morality.  We  do  not  say  that  the 
gain  has  been  clear  gain  :  only  that  morality  has 
profited  by  the  change.  Scientists  are  almost  inva- 
riably moral  men,  and  there  is  much  less  variation 
in  this  type  of  character  than  in  that  of  men  who 
abandon  themselves  to  Literature,  in  which  senti- 
ment so  often  triumphs  over  truth.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  phenomena  of  our  age  is  the  long  con- 
tinued controversy  between  Science  and  Theology. 
This  could  never  have  been  brought  about  did  not 
all  men  feel  that  the  issues  at  stake  have  a  prac- 
tical, and,  in  this  respect,  an  incommensurable 
value.  So  far  from  being  deprecated,  this  should 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the 
times.  So  imperiously  does  the  love  of  the  Right 
now  dominate  mankind,  that  the  Christian  morality 
is  as  fully  adopted  by  those  who  reject  Christianity 
as  by  those  who  accept  it.  If  the  subject  were  not 
one  of  solemnity,  it  would  be  amusing  to  notice  the 
many  instances  in  which  men  of  talent  occupy  them- 
selves in  repudiating  the  very  Theological  dogmas 
constituting  the  foundation  of  the  morality  they 
advocate.  Fortunately  for  them  there  are  others 
who  will  cherish  and  inculcate  the  doctrines  neces- 
sary to  the  existence  of  their  morality  :  and  in  the 
meantime  no  one  has  the  least  objection  to  their 
inconsistent  admiration,  inasmuch  as  it  is  so  emi- 
nently practical. 

The    influence  of  Science  in    Literature  (consid- 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY.  2I I 

ered  not  as  Art,  but  as  the  substitute  for  Art)  is 
very  striking.  In  past  ages  of  our  era  many  of  the 
noblest  and  most  gifted  of  mankind  were  so  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  that  the  One  Admirable  Life 
that  had  ever  been  lived  was  from  a  human  point  of 
view  a  failure,  that  they  emulated  each  other  in  mak- 
ing their  own  lives  failures.  Now  the  influence  of 
scientific  modes  of  thought  has  done  away  with  the 
ethics  of  self-mortification,  and  given  us  the  far  more 
difficult  problem  of  self-development  to  solve. 

Again,  the  directness,  the  efficacy,  the  self-suffi- 
ciency of  Science,  reacting  upon  the  contempt  already 
expressed  for  the  futility  of  Art,  have  led  men  to 
face  the  most  practical  of  all  questions : — Does 
intellectual  culture  touch  the  conscience  ?  The 
ancient  poet  felt  that  he  lived  under  a  dispensation 
which  permitted  him  to  acknowledge  frankly  that  he 
"  saw  the  best  and  yet  pursued  the  worst,"  a  state 
of  affairs  which  is  justly  considered  disgraceful  in  the 
present  age.  The  modern  philosopher,  after  having 
passed  in  rapid,  but  magnificently  comprehensive, 
survey  all  the  branches  of  human  learning,  says  : 
"  So  far  as  these  branches  of  knowledge  have  "been 
acquired,  we  have  learned  or  been  put  into  the  way 
of  learning  our  duty  and  our  work  in  life  :  it  still 
remains  that  what  we  know  we  shall  be  willing  and 
determined  to  put  in  practice.'  This  noble  spirit  is 
now  working  its  way  into  the  strongholds  of  Philos- 
ophy itself,  showing  that  the  idea  of  Right  is  a 
perception  of  the  reason,  not  a  sentiment  of  the  emo- 


212  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

tions.  Because  intellectual  power  displayed  itself 
as  genius,  that  is,  spontaneously,  unaccountably,  un- 
restrainedly as  regards  the  moral  sense,  men  in 
whom  the  love  of  the  Right  predominated  turned 
away  from  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect,  deeming  it 
possible  to  act  wisely  by  educating  the  moral  nature 
only.  And  even  yet  there  is  a  great  deal  of  this 
spirit  in  the  world  (though  one  would  think  there 
had  been  enough  failures  to  deter  anyone  from  mak- 
ing another  experiment) — of  trying  to  make  the  moral 
nature  accomplish  what  nothing  but  the  intellect 
can  do.  Having  no  guarantee  that  the  conscience 
will  ever  be  able  to  act  as  a  substitute  for  the  intel- 
lect, they  still  demand  that  it  shall,  and  hence  have 
been  led  to  the  perpetration  of  follies,  absurdities 
and  even  cruelties,  which,  in  their  turn,  have  excited 
the  contempt  of  intellectual  people  for  the  abettors 
of  religion  and  morality.  The  idea  that  the  intel- 
lect is  to  be  cultivated  for  the  sake  of  the  conscience 
is  one  which  was  not  possible  to  the  civilizations 
of  past  ages,  and  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  very  glory 
of  modern  times.  That  there  is  a  vital  connection 
between  the  intellect  and  the  conscience  must  be 
acknowledged  when  we  are  made  to  see  that  the  per- 
ception of  the  relation  in  which  we  stand  must  pre- 
cede the  recognition  of  the  obligation  rising  out  of 
that  relation.  Intellectual  stupidity  is  just  as  an- 
swerable as  moral  weakness  for  the  wrong-doing  in 
the  world.  Not  only  must  all  intellectual  culture 
affect  the  conscience,  making  the  individual  feel  a 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


2I3 


responsibility  corresponding  to  that  culture,  but 
every  step  in  moral  progress  ought  to  affect  the  intel- 
lect, placing  it  under  an  obligation  to  exert  its  power 
to  the  utmost.  Whenever  this  is  not  done,  it  is  a 
fatal  obstacle  to  the  influence  of  that  morality.  . 

It  may  be  a  magnificent  thing  to  be  endowed 
with  an  inexplicable  mental  power  which  expresses 
just  what  it  sees  without  note  or  comment :  all  feel 
that  it  is  a  far  grander  thing  to  be  entrusted  with  a 
potential  energy  which  it  is  in  our  power  to  use  or  not 
to  use ;  to  cultivate  or  not  to  cultivate  ;  and  this, 
every  step  of  the  way,  for  an  end  which  is  either 
worthy  or  not  worthy.  The  idea  that  we  have  a 
moral  duty  to  perform  in  cultivating  the  intellect  to 
the  utmost  of  its  power  is  one  which  is  just  dawning 
on  the  world.  But  I  hope  we  shall  live  to  see  the 
day  when  the  best  people  will  acknowledge  that  to 
cultivate  the  intellect  with  a  noble  end  in  view  is 
the  highest  work  to  which  anyone  can  be  called. 
The  world  is  beginning  to  ask  derisively  :  "  What 
is  the  use  of  the  penetrating  intellect  if  it  cannot 
solve  the  problem  of  one  life  ?  "  Mental  indolence, 
in  this  light,  becomes  not  only  a  sin,  but  the  crown- 
ing sin  ;  because  it  is  a  known  fact  that  intellectual 
acumen  can  be  made  splendidly  subservient  to  the 
moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  individual  and 
the  world. 

As  the  moral  ideal  is  so  much  higher  now  than  it 
has  ever  been  before,  one  may  naturally  ask  :  "  Is 


2I4 


STUDIES  W  CRITICISM-. 


the  world  then  so  much  better  to-day  than  it  has 
ever  been  before  ?  " 

To  this  we  reply :  Yes,  and  No. 

Of  course  the  very  existence  of  a  noble  ideal 
makes  the  world  better.  The  fact  that  but  one 
character  has  at  any  time  attained  a  loftier  elevation 
than  was  ever  known  in  the  world  before  is  a  glory 
to  that  time.  But  of  course  when  the  privileges, 
the  possibilities  and  opportunities  for  moral  progress 
are  so  great,  and  men  refuse  those  privileges,  we  feel 
that  they  are  worse  than  they  could  possibly  have 
been  without  the  opportunities.  Moreover,  there  is 
something  in  the  very  presence  of  goodness  among 
those  who  are  determined  to  reject  that  goodness 
for  themselves  which  evokes  all  that  is  worst  in 
them.  We  see  this  not  only  by  way  of  contrast 
(though  of  course  this  heightens  the  effect  of  both 
the  darkness  and  the  brightness  of  the  picture),  but 
in  actual  manifestation,  whenever  the  world  has  taken 
a  decisive  step  in  morality.  But  be  it  so.  The  re- 
markable fact  to  which  attention  is  now  drawn  is 
that  this  lofty  moral  standard  is  now  for  the  first 
time  borne  by  the  leaders  and  teachers  of  the  na- 
tions. It  is  true  we  have  Nihilism,  Communism, 
Socialism,  as  increasing  evils.  But  these  very  evils 
are  only  misconceptions  of  the  sublimest  doctrines 
of  Christianity,  and  the  agitation  of  a  people  in  je- 
gard  to  such  questions  is  like  the  restlessness  of  the 
stream — a  proof  that  its  life-giving  springs  are  pure, 
not  foul  and  stagnant.  We  have  suicide  to  an 


GENIUS  AND  MORALITY. 


215 


alarming  extent  in  this  Nineteenth  Century ;  but  it 
is  not  inculcated  by  our  men  of  greatest  intellectual 
enlightenment,  as  in  the  palmy  days  of  Latin  Litera- 
ture by  Cato,  Lucan,  Cicero,  etc.  This  pusillanimity 
does  not  prevail  among  our  national  leaders — as  in 
Brutus,  Antony,  Cleopatra,  etc.  And  so  with  other 
crimes.  All  feel  that  the  world  is  in  possession  of  a 
higher  ideal  than  it  ever  had,  and  the  acknowledg- 
ment that  thousands  come  short  ot  it  does  not  alter 
the  fact  of  its  existence.  There  are  individuals  whose 
morality  is  so  superior  to  that  of  the  mass  of  man- 
kind that  to  them  it  is  totally  incomprehensible : 
nevertheless,  that  incomprehensible  goodness  is  a 
fact  which  none  can  afford  to  ignore. 

Discovering  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  the  two 
effete  types  of  character — the  one  morally  weak  and 
therefore  self-impelled  toward  the  cultivation  of  the 
abstract  rather  than  the  concrete,  the  visionary 
rather  than  the  real :  the  other  morally  strong  only 
at  the  expense  of  that  wider  sympathy  and  compre- 
hension which  alone  could  make  its  morality  help- 
ful to  the  world — the  greatest  minds  of  this  age 
have  unequivocally  confessed  that  a  nobler  ideal 
must  be  set  before  mankind.  The  external  morality, 
the  moral  righteousness  which  rejoiced  that  it  tri- 
umphed over  the  commission  of  outward,  gross  sin 
will  not  do.  We  must  have  a  spiritual  righteous- 
ness whose  very  essence  is  a  consciousness  of 
spiritual  sinfulness,  thereby  placing  all  men  upon 
the  same  footing  in  the  sight  of  God  :  a  righteous- 


2l6  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ness  whose  sympathy  with  weakness  will  ever  be  in 
proportion  to  its  own  increasing  strength,  and  whose 
practical  earnestness  will  not  permit  men  to  believe 
that  any  faculty,  any  power,  any  capacity  of  the  hu- 
man mind  must  be  sacrificed  for  the  caprice  or  fan- 
cied good  of  any  other. 

Instead  of  striving  in  vain  to  get  a  moral  value 
out  of  Art — which  the  world  has  done  solely  in  order 
to  shift  the  burden  of  personal  responsibility — this 
educated  moral  sense  will  lead  us  to  see  that  every 
part  of  our  nature  is  worthy  of  cultivation,  and  none 
more  so  than  the  aesthetic  faculty.  The  world  has 
received  the  benefit  from  Art  unconsciously,  as  a 
child,  not  as  a  man.  But  it  is  not  until  we  are  able 
to  comprehend  its  specific  benefit  that  we  can  ap- 
propriate it  with  an  end  in  view.  While  receiving 
the  benefit  unconsciously,  Art  has  been  so  depre- 
ciated by  all  classes,  that  now,  unless  avowed  moral- 
ists appear  in  its  behalf,  its  claims  will  not  obtain  a 
hearing. 

From  Plato  on  through  the  ages  there  have  been 
repeated  attempts  to  reveal  the  real  relation  of  the 
Beautiful  to  the  Good.  One  whose  very  being  was 
steeped  in  both  has  appeared  in  our  own  day  to 
speak  with  the  wisdom  of  a  seer  on  this  subject. 
Sidney  Lanier,  whose  destiny  received  the  seal  of 
the  poet's,  and  whose  delicate,  penetrating,  exquis- 
itely feminine  genius  (according  to  the  customary 
designation  of  such  types)  elevated  him  far  above 
his  age  and  the  comprehension  of  that  age,  made 


GEtflUS  AND  MORALITY.  21 J 

it  the  object  of  his  life  to  sjiow  the  world  that  it 
will  never  understand  the  true  meaning  of  Holiness 
— its  Beauty, — until  it  solves  the  true  meaning  of  the 
Beautiful, — its  Holiness. 

This  is  to  take  the  life-principle  of  Art,  which 
never  could  have  had  an  existence  had  Art  been 
cultivated  for  moral  purposes,  and  make  it  subser- 
vient to  the  highest  of  all  ends.  Having  first  recog- 
nized that  there  is  a  spiritual  realm,  to  which  we  are 
called  by  the  simple  enjoyment  of  the  most  disin- 
terested sources  of  thought  and  delight  that  we 
can  know,  we  may  apply  its  principles  to  that  code 
of  morality,  to  which  from  the  weakness  of  our 
mortal  nature  we  turn  only  in  extremity  and  through 
compulsion  :  and  (conversely)  having  acknowledged 
that  there  are  acts  to  be  performed  from  a  sense  of 
inflexible  duty,  imperative  obligation  and  inherent 
righteousness,  we  may  rise  to  the  conception  of 
acts  to  be  performed  from  a  perception  of  harmony, 
innate  loveliness,  spiritual  exaltation  and  self-oblit- 
erating delight. 

Yes,  there  is  a  noble  principle  in  all  true  devo- 
tion to  the  Beautiful.  It  is  a  sacred  enthusiasm 
for  something  above  and  beyond  all  self-considera- 
tion, and  in  its  disinterestedness  it  has  blessed  and 
purified  human  existence.  Art-culture  could  never 
give  fresh  impulse  to  the  moral  life,  because  it 
appeals  to  a  higher  part  of  human  nature,  which  if 
not  touched  in  this  way  will  not  be  by  the  lower 
appeals  of  authority  and  self-interest.  But  the 


218 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


moral  life  can  never  attain  its  highest  development 
until  it  is  recognized  as  an  established  truth  that 
we  are  called  Heavenward  by  every  noble  impulse 
of  our  nature,  and  by  aspirations  reaching  far  be- 
yond the  narrow  limits  of  our  earthly  destiny. 


HISTORY  IN  LITERATURE. 

M.  DURUY,  in  his  recently  published  "  Histoire  de 
France,"  has  written  :  "  II  y  a  deux  Henri  IV.:  celui 
de  la  tradition  et  celui  de  1'histoire :  Tun  plus  he'- 
roique  et  grace  a  Voltaire  plus  populaire ;  Pautre 
sous  sa  bonhomie  madree  bien  plus  habile,  et  avec 
son  caractere  souple  bien  plus  propre  a  lever  un 
edifice  croulant  que  ne  1'eut  e'te  un  caractere  tout 
d'un  piece."* 

Such  a  candid  admission  cannot  but  be  impres- 
sive and  suggestive.  It  leads  History  out  of  that 
dull,  humdrum  province  to  which  it  has  been  con- 
fined (even  in  the  minds  of  scholars)  into  the  great 
broad  realms  of -universal  Literature.  And  it  shows 
us  that  there  is  an  ideal  as  well  as  an  actual  march 
of  events.  For  may  we  not  justly  translate  "  tradi- 
tional "  according  to  M.  Duruy,  as  the  effort  to  color 
events  and  characters  by  the  imagination,  instead  of 


*  There  are  two  Henry  the  Fourths ;  the  traditional  one 
and  the  historical  one ;  the  former  more  heroic  and,  thanks  to 
Voltaire,  more  popular ;  the  latter  under  his  dexterous  good- 
nature much  more  capable,  and  with  his  supple  character 
much  better  adapted  to  build  up  a  crumbling  edifice  than  a 
perfectly  consistent  character  would  have  been. 
2I9 


22O  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

so  establishing  them  in  visible  form  (no  progressive 
nation  having  lacked  such  a  form)  as  to  forbid 
aught  but  the  bare  reality  ?  Literature  then  becomes 
the  grand  repository  not  only  of  facts,  but  also  of 
the  idealizations  which  men  have  woven  in  and  out 
of  prosaic  events  by  the  wondrous  power  of  the 
imagination.  Of  course  there  is  a  real  and  a  ficti- 
tious element  of  tradition  just  as  truly  as  of  History, 
but  here  by  a  legitimate  synechdoche  the  division 
is  at  once  simplified. 

Not  only  does  the  disposition  to  record  past 
events  constitute  a  distinct  feature  of  rational  in- 
stinct, but  the  study  of  the  past,  revealing,  as  it 
does,  the  moral  laws  on  which  man's  existence  re- 
poses, must  ever  elevate  and  refine  both  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  national  intellect.  In  it  we  find,  to 
pursue  M.  Duruy's  thought  more  closely,  the  inter- 
pretations which  men  have  put  upon  passing  events 
as  well  as  the  bare  and  rugged  outlines  of  the  act- 
ual facts.  With  that  longing  for  consistency  and 
harmony  which  seems  to  be  common  to  our  race, 
men  have  striven  to  ignore  inimical  elements  and 
leave  on  record  conceptions  which  may  be  compre- 
hended in  a  single  representation.  When  a  char- 
acter is  bad,  the  imagination  says :  "  Let  it  be 
wicked,  and  a  strange  and  startling  fascination  may 
be  thrown  around  it."  When  a  man  is  good,  a  wail 
bursts  from  the  human  heart  that  he  is  not  perfect. 
So  much  for  the  rash  judgments  of  the  heart :  for 
the  lapse  of  time  will  show  the  thoughtful  student 


HIS  TOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE.  2  2 1 

that  the  very  character  which  the  imagination  sought 
to  form  was  just  the  one  incapable  of  enacting  the 
role  History  demanded,  and  that  those  same  incon- 
sistencies which  are  deplored  were  precisely  the  com- 
ponent parts  fitted  to  corresponding  circumstances. 
This  cannot  but  lead  one  to  contemplate  the  intri- 
cate, complicated,  involved  character  of  our  race- 
destiny  :  and  it  especially  presents  a  fruitful  thought 
to  the  student  o£  Literature  :  for  if  Literature  is  the 
repository  of  both  tradition  and  History,  it  becomes 
a  duty  of  the  first  importance  to  preserve  their 
lines  of  demarcation ;  to  consider  the  magnificent 
sequence  of  cause  and  effect ;  to  note  the  mysteri- 
ous instruments  of  Providential  choosing  and  to 
ponder  over  the  regenerating  strides  of  a  progres- 
sive civilization. 

Literature  and  History  are  so  reciprocally  related 
that  the  one  is  valueless  without  the  other.  But 
History  responds  much  more  clearly  to  the  whys 
and  wherefores  of  Literature  than  vice  versa  ;  for 
History  is  synthetic,  while  Literature  is  analytic. 
It  is  but  in  our  own  age  that  the  study  of  Literature 
in  the  form  of  History  has  begun  to  be  popularized  ; 
while  a  still  more  novel  study  is  the  History  of  Lan- 
guage as  the  chief  element  of  Literature.  Not 
even  yet  has  this  been  attempted  in  our  own 
tongue,  where  a  noble  field  of  labor  awaits  the  gifted. 
Trench  has  but  given  a  hint  of  one  branch  of  this 
study.  But  the  connection  of  the  Latin  and  French 
languages  and  the  history  of  their  vicissitudes  has 


222  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

been  made  most  fascinating  in  Brachet's  "  Gram- 
maire  Historique  de  *  la  Langue  Franchise "  ; 
Geruzez's  "  Histoire  de  la  Litterature  Franchise  "  : 
Louis  Moland's  "  Origines  Litteraires  "  and  "  Les 
Principaux  Ecrivains  Francois  "  of  Antoine  Roche. 
To  me  it  is  a  fact  full  of  significance  that  this  study 
should  have  reached  its  highest  development  in  the 
two  languages  which  play  so  great  a  role  in  the  history 
of  civilization — the  one  the  spoken  tongue  of  that 
vain-glorious  empire  called  by  its  elated  devotees 
"  the  world  "  ;  the  other  by  the  common  consent  of 
the  civilized  nations  o*f  modern  times,  chosen  to  be 
the  idiom  of  universal  communication,  and,  as  M. 
Ge'ruzez  says  :  "  porter  sur  tous  les  points  du  globe, 
avec  des  genereux  sentiments,  des  pensees  lumi- 
neuses  et  fecondes." 

One  of  the  most  suggestive  thoughts  which  I 
have  found  in  this  study  has  been  the  explanation 
it  at  least  intimates  of  the  world-wide  meed  of 
approbation  which  certain  literary  efforts  have  ob- 
tained. It  is  the  exquisite  adaptation  of  the  lan- 
guage to  the  subject-matter,  not  as  the  work  of 
individual  genius,  but  from  the  political  history 
necessarily  involved  in  both  the  language  and  the 
subject.  This,  it  is  evident,  renders  a  work  unique 
and  incapable  of  repetition ;  it  must  stand  alone 
and  form  a  marked  feature  of  that  life  that 


'  Like  a  dome  of  many-colored  glass, 
Stains  the  white  radiance  of  Eternity." 


HIS  TOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE.  22$ 

Many  have  detailed  the  campaigns  of  war,  but 
the  Commentaries  of  Caesar  know  no  kindred. 
Senatorial  and  forensic  eloquence  has  had  brilliant 
champions,  but  no  traitor  has  been  so  gloriously 
immortalized  as  Catiline.  Hear  Horace,  when  with 
poetic  prescience,  under  the  figure  of  a  ship  of  state 
fitted  to  destruction,  he  describes  the  hollow  glory 
of  imperial  Rome  : 

"  O  navis  referrent  in  mare  te  novi 
Fluctus!     O  quid  agis  ?     Fortiter  occupa 
Portum  ! 

Non  tibi  sunt  Integra  lintea, 
Non  di,  quos  iterum  pressa  voces  malo, 
Quamvis  Pontica  pinus, 
Silvae  filia  nobilis, 
Jactes  et  genus  et  nomen  inutile, 
Nil  pictis  timidus  navita  puppibus 
Fidet.    Tu,  nisi  vends 
Debes  ludibrium,  cave."* 

The  Pontic  pine,  affording  now  a  lineage  so  un- 
availing, brings  immediately  before  us  the  once 
powerful  Mithridates, — Sylla,  Marius,  Lucullus  and 


*"O  ship,  will  the  waves  again  bear  thee  sea-ward!  O 
what  art  thou  doing  ?  Bravely  remain  in  the  harbor.  There 
are  no  whole  ropes  within  thy  rigging.  The  gods,  whom, 
overcome  with  evil,  thou  invokest  again  and  again,  are  not 
favorable  to  thee.  Although  of  Pontic  pine,  daughter  of  a 
noble  forest,  thou  art  tossed  about  and  both  thy  race  and  thy 
name  are  useless.  The  timid  sailor  trusts  not  in  thy  painted 
stern.  Unless  thou  wouldst  give  sport  to  the  winds,  beware." 


224 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


Pompey,  and  the  last  desperate  struggles  of  a  de- 
voted people,  and  surely  the  application  of  the 
figure  is  full  of  deep  and  soul-stirring  pathos. 
Horace  is  not  the  volatile  lover,  the  flippant  Epi- 
curean he  would  have  us  deem  him.  The  patriot 
pierces  through  all  guises  and  disguises,  and  only 
as  the  lover  of  the  Republic  and  the  simple  tastes 
generated  and  fostered  by  Republicanism  does  he 
still  live  in  men's  hearts. 

Again,  poetic  homage  has  often  been  offered  in 
mellifluous  numbers;  but  what  fascinating  fiction 
more  than  Virgil's  has  made  the  world  feel :  "  Sunt 
lacrimae  rerum  et  mentem  mortalia  tangunt."* 

It  is  impossible  to  deny  that  one  of  the  secrets  of 
the  literary  value  of  the  Latin  language  is  its  mar- 
velous capability  to  convey  the  thoughts  and  ideas 
which  mirror  the  history  of  Rome's  greatest  epoch. 
The  idea  that  interest  in  the  study  of  Latin  is  based 
upon  the  philological  benefit  to  be  derived  from  it 
is  from  the  necessity  of  the  case  a  fiction.  Enthu- 
siasm in  Philology  is  the  effect  and  not  the  cause  of 
linguistic  research.  That  strangely  fascinating 
study  of  the  past,  which  awakens  the  sentiment  of 
universal  brotherhood  and  which,  strange  to  say, 
has  preceded  all  the  renovating  and  reformatory 
epochs  in  History,  creates  an  unquenchable  desire 
to  trace  such  knowledge  to  its  fountain-head.  As 


*  There  are  tears  for  misfortunes  everywhere,  and  whatever 
is  human  affects  the  human  mind, 


HISTOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TUKE. 


225 


the  significance  of  History  is  developed,  a  corre- 
sponding advance  in  the  aims  of  literary  culture  be- 
comes inevitable.  It  is  not  History  as  history,  but 
Literature  as  history  that  has  given  Latin  authors 
the  precedence  they  maintain.  The  history  in 
Cicero's  Orations,  from  the  very  indirectness  of  its 
character,  supersedes  in  interest  the  fervid  elo- 
quence, the  dauntless  patriotism,  the  strength  of 
will  and  courage  with  which  those  pages  glow. 
When  for  the  third  time  Cicero's  indignation  on  the 
discovery  of  indisputable  proof  of  a  detestable  con- 
spiracy leaps  its  bounds,  and  he  seeks  to  lay  bare 
before  the  excited  people  the  measures  he  has 
taken  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives,  he  says : 

"  Itaque  ut  comperi  legates  Allobrogum,  belli  'Transalpini 
et  tumultus  Gallici  excitandi  causa,  a  P.  Lentulo  esse  solicita- 
tos,  eosque  in  Galliam  ad  suos  cives  eodemque  itinere  cum 
literis  mandatisque  ad  Catilinam  esse  missos,  comitemque  iis 
adjunctum  T.  Volturcium,  atque  hinc  esse  ad  Catilinam  datas 
literas,  facultatem  mihi  oblatam  putavi  ut  tota  res  non  solum 
a  me,  sed  etiam  a  senatu  et  a  vobis  manifesto  deprehendere- 
tur.  Itaque  hesterno  die  L.  Flaccum  et  C.  Pomptinum,  prae- 
tors, fortissimos  atque  amantissimos  rei  publicae  viros,  ad  me 
vocavi :  rem  omnem  exposui  ;  quid  fieri  placeret,  ostendi. 
Illi  autem,  qui  omnia  de  republica  prseclara  atque  egregia 
sentirent,  sine  recusatione  ac  sine  ulla  mora  negotium  susce- 
perunt,  et,  quum  advesperascent,  oculte  ad  pontem  Mulvium 
pervenerunt,  atque  ibi  in  proximis  villis  ita  bipartite  fuerunt, 
ut  Tiberis  inter  eos  et  pons  interesset.  Eodem  autem  et  ipsi 
sine  cujusquam  suspicione  multos  fortes  viros  eduxerunt,  et 
ego  ex  praefectura  Reatina  complures  delectos  adolescentes, 
quorum  opera  utor  assidue  in  re  pubilica,  praesidio  cum 
J5 


226  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

gladiis  miseram.  Interim,  tertia  fere  vigilia  exacta,  quum 
pontem  Mulvium  cum  magno  comitatu  legati  Allobrogum 
ingredi  inciperent  unaque  Volturcius,  fit  in  eos  impetus ; 
educuntur  et  ab  illis  gladii  et  a  nostris.  Res  erat  praetoribus 
nota  solis ;  ignorabatur  a  ceteris."  * 

Is  not  this  word-painting  to  an  almost  marvelous 
degree  ?  If  these  Orations  against  Catiline  were 
extemporaneous,  as  has  been  supposed,  they  can 
scarcely  come  under  the  head  of  literary  efforts,  but 
they  reveal  still  more  strikingly  the  wealth  and 
virility  of  a  language  that  could  thus  meet  the  ex- 
igencies of  the  hour,  and  paint,  in  so  few  terse 
sentences,  thoughts  glowing  with  repressed  excite- 
ment. 

As  civilization  advances  and  the  details  of   life 

*  Therefore  when  I  found  out  that  ambassadors  of  the 
Allobroges  had  been  tampered  with  by  P.  Lentulus,  for  the 
sake  of  arousing  a  war  across  the  Alps  and  disturbances  in 
Gaul,  and  that  they  had  been  sent  Jnto  Gaul  to  their  fellow 
citizens  by  the  same  road  with  letters  and  messages  to  Cati- 
line and  that  T.  Volturcius  had  joined  them  as  a  companion 
and  that  letters  to  Catiline  had  been  entrusted  to  him,  I 
thought  that  an  opportunity  was  offered  me  for  bringing  it 
about  that  the  whole  matter  should  be  openly  checked  not 
only  by  me,  but  also  by  the  senate  and  by  yourselves.  And 
so  yesterday  I  summoned  L.  Flaccus  and  C.  Pomptinus,  the 
praetors,  most  brave  and  patriotic  men  :  I  explained  the  whole 
affair ;  I  showed  them  what  I  thought  ought  to  be  done. 
And  they  who  had  always  entertained  the  most  lofty  and  en- 
nobling sentiments  concerning  the  republic,  without  excuse  or 
any  delay  undertook  the  affair,  and  when  evening  approached 
secretly  went  to  the  Mulvian  bridge  and  there  divided  them- 


HISTORY  IN  LITER  A  TURE. 


227 


multiply,  we  must  ever  be  burdened  with  a  language 
remarkable  for  its  redundancy.  Latin  is  character- 
ized by  its  inflexibility.  And  the  age  of  its  greatest 
glory  was  (not  altogether  in  a  paradoxical  sense) 
one  of  inflexibility.  When  after  eight  years  of  atro- 
cious warfare  Caesar  writes :  "  His  rebus  gestis, 
omni  Gallia  pacata,  tanta  hujus  belli  ad  barbaros 
opinio  perlata  est,  uti  ab  his  nationibus,  quae  trans 
Rhenum  incolerent,  mitterentur  legati  Caesarem, 
qui  se  obsides  daturas,  imperata  facturas,  polliceren- 
tur  "*  — and  the  laws,  institutions  and  language  of 
the  inflexible  conquerors  were  imposed  on  "  pacified 
Gaul,"  little  could  the  wildest  imagination  have 
dreamed  that  by  that  imposition  the  most  inflexible 


selves  into  two  parties  among  the  neighboring  country  houses 
in  such  a  way  that  the  Tiber  and  the  bridge  were  between 
them.  Moreover  at  the  same  time  they  themselves  led  forth 
many  brave  men  without  arousing  the  suspicion  of  anyone, 
and  I  myself  sent  from  the  prefecture  of  Reate  many  chosen 
youths  armed  with  swords,  as  a  guard,  whose  assistance  I 
often  used  in  the  republic.  Meantime  when  the  third  watch 
had  almost  elapsed,  when  the  ambassadors  of  the  Allobroges 
with  a  great  retinue  together  with  Volturcius  set  foot  upon 
the  bridge,  an  attack  was  made  upon  them ;  swords  were 
drawn  both  by  their  men  and  by  ours.  The  affair  was  known 
to  the  praetors  alone ;  to  the  rest  it  was  unknown." 

*  These  things  having  been  done,  all  Gaul  having  been  paci- 
fied, so  great  an  opinion  of  this  war  was  reported  to  the  bar- 
barians, that  from  those  nations  who  live  beyond  the  Rhine 
ambassadors  were  sent  to  Caesar,  who  promised  that  hostages 
should  be  given,  orders  should  be  obeyed. 


228  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

language  was  to  grow  into  the  most  flexible,  and  by 
the  very  means  of  its  conquest  the  crushed  nation 
was  to  sweep  the  conquering  one  into  oblivion. 
Roman  civilization  became  effete  from  its  inability 
to  cope  with  the  progressive  ideas  of  the  Teutonic 
nations.  Charles  Kingsley,  who  has  stamped  his 
individuality  so  indelibly  upon  our  century,  has 
demonstrated  that  the  social  and  domestic  manners 
which  characterize  modern  times  are  of  German 
origin  and  were  utterly  unknown  among  the  Latin 
nations.  Until  within  the  last  half-century  History 
was  written  as  if  modern  civilization  was  but  the 
prolongation  of  Roman  civilization.  But  their  sev- 
erance is  as  complete  and  as  effectual  as  can  be 
imagined. 

Roman  authors  sought  to  treasure  every  tradition 
that  could  lend  a  luster  to  their  country's  annals. 
Do  we  deplore  the  lack  of  contemporary  poets  dur- 
ing the  desperate  struggle  between  Rome  and 
Carthage  ?  We  need  not,  for  "  the  destruction  of 
Carthage,"  says  Bosworth  Smith,  "is  the  Second 
Book  of  the  ^Eneid  in  stern  and  simple  fact." 
"  The  great  Roman  poet  needed  not  to  draw  upon 
his  imagination  for  a  single  detail  of  his  splendid 
picture  of  the  fall  of  Troy.  The  burning  ancl  the 
slaughter,  the  crash  of  falling  houses,  the  oblitera- 
tion of  a  wealthy  and  an  ancient  city  which  had 
held  imperial  sway  for  many,  nay  for  700  years — it 
was  all  there,  written  in  letters  of  blood  and  fire,  in 


Jf/S  TOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE.  229 

the  record  of  his  own  country's  most  signal  achieve- 
ment." 

But  the  most  interesting  feature  of  Virgil's  immor- 
tal epic  is  its  constant  reflection  of  Rome  as  it  then 
was.  Merivale  says :  "  A  grand  religious  idea 
breathes  throughout  the  ^Eneid  :  Yes  there  are  gods, 
it  proclaims  and  the  glories  of  Rome  demonstrate 
it."  It  is  the  Roman  people  that  is  ever  kept  before 
our  view.  The  constantly  recurring  idea  expressed 
in 

"  Longa  tibi  exsilia,  et  vastum  man's  aequor  arandum, 
Et  terram  Hesperiam  venies  ubi  Lydius  arva 
Inter  opima  virum  leni  fluit  agmine  Thybris. 
Illic  res  laetae  regnumque  et  regia  conjunx 
Partatibi:"* 

and  again  in 

Conjugio,  Anchise  Veneris  dignate  superbo, 
Cura  deum,  bis  Pergameis  erepte  ruinis, 
Ecce  tibi  Ausoniae  tellus,  hanc  arripe  velis.t 
Et  tamen  hanc  pelago  praeterlabare  necesse  est ; 
Ausonial  pars  ilia  procul,  quam  pandit  Apollo." 


*  A  long  exile  awaits  thee,  and  the  vast  deep  must  be  passed 
over,  And  thou  shalt  come  to  the  Hesperian  land  where  the 
Lydian  Tiber  flows  among  the  rich  fields  of  men  with  gentle 
course.  There  joyful  things  and  a  kingdom  and  a  royal  wife 
have  been  obtained  for  thee. 

t  O  Anchises,  deemed  worthy  a  proud  wedlock  with  Venus, 
twice  snatched  from  the  ruins  of  Troy,  cherish  thy  gods.  So 
for  thee  is  the  land  of  Ausonia,  seize  upon  this  with  your  sails. 
And  yet  it  is  necessary  to  reach  this  by  the  sea ;  that  part  of 
Ausonia  which  Apollo  opens  for  you  is  far  distant. 


230 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


might  have  for  its  object  the  flattery  of  the  adored 
Augustus,  but  its  interest  is  far  otherwise  for  us.  It 
casts  its  shadow  down  through  the  long  and  tortuous 
course  of  the  ages  and  it  is  full  of  gloom.  Who 
could  foretell  that  the  mighty  Empire  was  even  then 
tottering  to  its  fall?  Succeeding  generations  may 
well  linger  over  the  pages  that  reveal  such  mystic 
secrets.  The  greatest  of  Latin  poets  has  held  his 
beloved  country  up  to  view  in  a  veil  too  transparent 
to  hide  the  ravages  that  self-indulgence  and  insatia- 
ble pride  had  made  in  their  willing  victim. 

Historians  say  that  Sallust  has  covered  the 
Roman  aristocracy  "  with  eternal  infamy  in  a  series 
of  pungent  satires  under  the  garb  of  History."  He 
flatly  refuses  to  minister  to  the  national  vanity  and 
openly  reminds  his  countrymen  that  "  in  eloquence 
the  Greeks,  in  the  glory  of  war  the  Gauls,  preceded 
the  Romans."  *  Indeed,  intent  upon  the  duty  of 
chastisement,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  say :  Postquam 
divitiae  honori  esse  ccepere  et  eas  gloria,  imperium, 
potentia  sequebatur,  hebescere  virtus,  paupertas 
probo  haberi,  innocentia  pro  malevolentia  duci 
ccepit.  Igitur  ex  divitiis  juventum  luxuria  atque 
avaritia  cum  superbia  invasere  :  rapere,  consumere ; 
sua  parvi  pendere,  aliena  cupere,  pudorem,  juclici- 


*  "  Facundia    Graecos,  gloria    belli  Gallos   ante  Romanes 
fuisse." 


HIS  TOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE.  2  3 1 

tiam,  divina  atque  humana  promiscua,  nihil  pensi 
neque  moderati  haberi.* 

Yes,  the  Latin  language  will  have  an  imperishable 
charm  for  men  as  long  as  it  is  an  index  and  key  to 
events  which  have  so  mightily  influenced  the  desti- 
nies of  our  race.  That  its  literary  value  consists  in 
its  inflexibility  and  transparency  is  still  more  evident 
upon  a  comparison  of  similar  productions  in  other 
languages.  Voltaire  tried  to  maintain  that  "  L'  Art 
Poe'tique"  of  Boileau  was  superior  to  the  "Ars 
Poetica  "  of  Horace,  and  failed  to  convince  even  his 
contemporaries.  The  disparity  cannot  be  only  such 
as  must  ever  occur  between  the  model  and  the  imi- 
tation. The  language  itself  is  far  from  possessing 
what  the  Frenchman  calls  "la  libre  allure,  la  nettete, 
la  profondeur  de  son  modele,"  while  a  more  satis- 
factory cause  is  surely  found  in  the  fact  that  the 
writers  whom  Boileau's  muse  unveiled  have  no  com- 
parative claim  upon  our  interest,  for  as  Horace  him 
self  says  : 


*  After  riches  began  to  be  honored  and  glory,  sovereignty, 
power  followed,  virtue  began  to  languish,  indigence  to  be 
regarded  as  good,  innocence  to  be  considered  malevolence. 
Therefore  in  consequence  of  wealth,  luxury  and  avarice  with 
pride  assailed  the  youth;  they  plundered,  they  consumed; 
they  esteemed  their  own  possessions  of  little  value,  they 
sought  debts,  they  had  no  regard  at  all  for  modesty,  chastity, 
things  divine  and  human  without  distinction  and  they  had  no 
self-restraint. 


232 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

"Tu  rectius  Iliacum  carmen  deducis  in  aCtus, 
Quam  si  proferres  ignota  indictaque  primus."  * 


The  genius  of  a  language  forms  such  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  the  development  of  national  life  that 
it  is  impossible  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  History 
without  an  acquaintance  with  the  idioms  in  which 
its  parts  are  written. 

The  same  psychological  law  which  discovers 
that  remarks  made  in  jest,  often  surprising  no  one 
so  much  as  their  own  author,  are  the  legitimate 
outgrowth  of  individual  character,  determines  also 
the  larger  causes  and  effects  in  Literature.  The 
origin  and  growth  of  the  French  language  from 
beginning  to  end  is  a  pure  Historical  sequence, 
and  the  reflection  of  History  in  Literature  can  be 
traced  with  very  much  more  pleasure  in  French 
than  in  Latin  authors,  because  the  materials  for 
study  are  so  much  more  abundant  and  the  History 
itself  is  so  much  more  important  in  that  it  is  con- 
nected with  our  own  civilization  and  ideas  of  individ- 
ual welfare.  We  pass  from  the  Latin  to  the  French 
language  as  one  turns  from  the  testator  to  his  heir ; 
by  no  arbitrary  selection,  but  because  of  that  nat- 
ural affinity  which  exists  only  in  ties  of  ancestry 
and  consanguinity.  With  the  Invasion  of  the  Barba- 
rians the  Roman  Empire  saw  government,  justice, 

*  Thou  dost  more  rightly  dramatize  the  Trojan  song, 
Than  if  thou  shouldst  first  bring  forward  things  unknown 
and  unsung. 


HISTORY  IN  LITER  A  TUKE. 


233 


aristocracy,  and  letters  disappear.  Then  public 
functionaries  wrote  a  jargon,  neither  vulgar  nor 
classical  Latin,  but  a  mixture  of  the  two,  as  utterly 
useless  for  literary  purposes  as  it  was  inadequate 
for  those  of  ordinary  intercourse.  Yet,  as  there 
was  no  uniform  German,  and  as  there  were  tradi- 
tions of  classical  Latin,  the  quick  witted  Franks 
saw  that  if  order  was  ever  to  be  brought  out  of  this 
chaos  it  must  be  by  the  formation  of  a  language 
which  was  at  the  same  time  literary  and  popular ; 
and,  hastening  with  avidity  to  the  study  of  this 
Latin  that  was  within  their  reach,  they  became  the 
legislators  of  Europe.  It  is  a  law  of  History  that 
every  language,  as  every  people,  one  in  its  origin, 
is  not  long  in  doubling  itself  into  a  noble  and  a 
popular  class.  From  Brachet  we  find  that  the  pop- 
ular Latin  spoken  in  Gaul,  brought  in  by  soldiers 
and  dependents,  was  as  little  like  the  Latin  of 
Virgil  as  the  French  taught  by  French  soldiers  to 
the  Arabians  was  like  the  language  of  Bossuet. 
The  Latin  language  had  already  undergone  this 
doubling  process.  The  introduction  of  Greek  Art 
in  Rome  by  the  Scipios,  the  conquest  of  Greece 
and  its  reduction  to  the  condition  of  a  Roman 
province  had  introduced  Greek  words  among  the 
Roman  aristocracy  and  the  written  language,  i.e. 
the  noble,  had  become  very  unlike  the  spoken  lan- 
guage. Now  the  French  took  this  spoken  language 
and  it  doubled  itself  by  becoming  a  literary  and  a 
popular  language.  But  the  two  could  not  long 


234 


STUDIES  JN  CRITICISM. 


hold  out  with  equal  persistency.  History  accounts 
for  the  destruction  of  the  literary  Latin  by  calling 
our  attention  to  the  institution  of  the  Curiales  in 
Gaul,  and  in  this  triumph  of  the  masses  through  the 
very  fiscal  measures  taken  by  Rome  to  crush  them 
we  seem  to  be  prepared  for  the  part  to  be  played 
hereafter  by  the  Droit  ecrit  and  the  Tiers  Etat. 

So  it  is  altogether  incorrect  to  say  that  French  is 
corrupted  from  the  classical  Latin  by  a  mixture  of 
popular  words.  It  is  the  popular  Latin  itself. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  complete  dependence 
of  Literature  upon  History  just  at  this  point.  As 
early  as  879  the  French  provinces  south  of  the 
Loire  were  formed  into  a  kingdom  under  Bozon  I. 
as  king  of  Aries  or  Provence.  In  1092  the  line 
became  extinct  with  Gilibert,  who  left  two  daugh- 
ters. One  of  these  daughters,  Douce,  married 
Raymond  Berenger,  Count  of  Barcelona.  Now  it 
was  just  at  this  time  that  Abderahme  had  founded 
the  dynasty  of  the  Omiades,  so  that  by  the  union 
of  Provence  and  Barcelona  Southern  France  came 
in  contact  with  the  most  massive  learning,  the 
most  brilliant  originality  and  the  most  enthusiastic 
devotion  to  Literature  then  in  the  world.  It  was 
at  this  time  also  that  the  conquest  of  New  Castile 
occurred,  and  the  Provencals  not  only  assisted  in 
the  war,  but  carried  home  new  ideas  of  chivalry  and 
tshe  romance  of  the  Cid,  who  was  the  hero  of  the 
war.  We  shall  never  know  to  what  heights  Pro- 
ven^al  Poetry  might  have  soared.  For  the  most 


HISTORY  IN-  LITER  A  TURE. 


235 


bitter,  cruel  and  perfidious  persecution  came  to 
blight  this  fair  land  of  song  just  as  it  began  to 
bloom,  and  when  peace  was  restored  and  an  intel- 
lectual revival  attempted,  it  was  found  that  the 
spirit  of  poetry  had  taken  its  flight  from  the  blood- 
stained land. 

By  a  curious  and  most  unaccountable  coinci- 
dence one  of  the  most  sensuous  forms  of  Literature 
ever  known  owed  its  destruction  to  the  means  em- 
ployed to  destroy  one  of  the  "  straitest "  of  relig- 
ious sects  ever  known,  for  it  was  the  Crusade 
against  the  Albigenses  that  put  an  end  to  Provencal 
Poetry.  What  a  train  of  thought  this  connection 
entails ! 

Going  back  to  the  Ninth  Century  we  hear  of  a 
sect  of  Christians  called  Paullicians,  who  spread 
from  Armenia  into  the  provinces  of  the  Greek  em- 
pire. During  the  persecutions  of  Theodora  and 
Basil  of  Macedonia,  they  fled  to  Bulgaria  and 
among  the  Mussulmans,  through  the  former  entering 
Germany  and  preparing  the  way  for  the  Hussites  ; 
through  the  latter  entering  Spain  and  Southern 
France.  Multiplying  rapidly  in  the  diocese  of 
Alby,  they  came  to  be  called  Albigenses.  In 
open  conflict  with  the  Pope  (who  happened  at  this 
time  to  be  Innocent  III.,  one  of  the  strongest  char- 
acters in  all  History)  as  to  Papal  Infallibility, 
Purgatory  and  Prayers  for  the  Dead,  according  to 
the  ideas  of  the  age  nothing  remained  for  them  but 
utter  annihilation.  And  as  we  trace  this  simulta- 


236  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

neous  extinction  of  a  flourishing  Literature  and  an 
independent  religious  movement  we  cannot  but 
wonder  whether  it  is  not  possible  to  find  an  expla- 
nation of  this  connection  in  the  freedom  of  the  Pro- 
ven^aPs  canons  of  taste  and  the  fearlessness  of  the 
Albigensian's  avowal  of  belief.  At  all  events  we 
see  both  spirits  resuscitated  long  after  they  are 
supposed  to  be  dead  and  forgotten.  The  Albi- 
gensians  are  scarcely  less  the  heralds  of  the  Refor- 
mation than  the  Provencals  are  the  forerunners  of 
modern  Literature. 

At  the  close  of  the  Crusade  Charles  of  Anjou 
claimed  the  sovereignty  of  Provence,  but  as  he 
made  Naples  the  seat  of  his  court  the  traditions  of 
the  only  Literature  then  formed  were  carried  to 
Italy,  and  the  next  event  which  arrests  attention  is 
the  formation  of  the  Italian  language  in  the  creation 
of  Dante's  mighty  and  immortal  "  Divine  Comedy." 

All  this  while  the  popular  Latin  was  meeting  with 
a  very  different  fate  in  northern  France.  Though 
long  delayed,  it  was,  however,  here  that  the  new 
mode  of  expression  was  to  find  its  real  resting-place 
and  clothe  the  genius  of  the  nation  in  forms  of  im- 
perishable beauty.  An  entirely  different  element 
had  been  infused  into  the  life  of  the  Walloons. 
While  Southern  France  was  joining  hands  with 
Spain,  the  Northmen — the  most  successful  invaders 
in  History — were  establishing  themselves  on  the 
banks  of  the  Seine.  Intrepid,  frank,  and  aspiring, 
the  identification  of  the  two  peoples  became  com- 


HISTORY  IN  LITER  A  TURE. 


237 


plete,  and  it  is  to  this  union  that  we  trace  the  inven- 
tion of  a  style  of  writing  as  remarkable  for  its  origi- 
nality as  for  its  unbroken  popularity,  for  all  roman- 
tic Literature  has  enriched  itself  from  the  Romances 
of  Chivalry. 

In  the  Eleventh  Century  the  usurpation  of  Hugh 
Capet  fixed  the  capital  of  the  nation  at  Paris,  and 
as  the  Capetian  dynasty  waxed  stronger  and  stronger, 
so  the  dialect  of  the  Isle  of  France  gained  in  power 
and  popularity.  Each  age  saw  a  new  province 
added  to  this  central  province,  and  France  rapidly 
grew  into  the  compact  monarchy  it  was  evidently 
destined  to  be  by  its  physical  configuration  and 
amalgamated  races. 

But  it  is  worth  while  to  observe  that  the  French 
language  has  always  preserved  that  exquisite  equi- 
librium between  neology  and  tradition  which  is  the 
secret  of  a  true  and  living  language.  We  have  seen 
that  the  Provencals  carried  their  models  to  Italy, 
and  we  must  not  pass  over  the  fact  that  the  Italians 
brought  their  language  to  France.  The  Seventy 
Years'  residence  of  the  Popes  at  Avignon  exercised 
a  perceptible  influence  over  the  language,  literature, 
and  thought  of  France,  and  when  we  remember  the 
iron  firmness  of  that  remarkable  man,  Pierre  de 
Luna,  Pope  Benedict  XIII.,  we  may  no  longer  mar- 
vel that  a  large  portion  of  the  French  people  could 
never  resolve  to  break  away  from  the  spell  of  Ro- 
manism, for  the  influence  of  one  strong  will  at  a 
time  of  crisis  is  irresistible. 


238  $ TUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

From  the  expeditions  of  Charles  VIII.  into  Italy, 
the  wars  of  his  successors  and  the  ascendency  of 
Catherine  de  Medici,  the  French  became  still  more 
Italianized,  and  it  was  not  until  Henry  IV.  estab- 
lished the  independence  of  the  kingdom  that  Mal- 
herbe  established  that  of  the  language. 

To  perceive  the  still  more  interesting  connection 
between  the  History  and  the  character  of  the  Liter- 
ature we  have  only  to  glance  at  their  synchronism 
as  illustrated  in  the  Literature  itself. 

The  early  Literature  of  France  begins  with  the 
first  Crusade  and  ends  with  the  reign  of  Louis  IX. 
The  Crusades  awakened  the  spirit  of  adventure  and 
fostered  a  love  for  heroic  deeds  and  tender  emotions 
— hence  the  Chansons  de  Gestes  and  the  Poems 
d'Amour,  for  "  Chivalry  arose  when  love  was  added 
to  piety  and  courage."  In  this  period  we  find  the 
Legend  of  the  Holy  Graal,  of  which  Moland  says : 
"  There  can  be  found  nowhere,  in  the  history  of  any 
people,  an  example  as  considerable  and  as  striking 
of  the  action  of  manners  on  literature  and  the  reac- 
tion of  literature  on  manners."  Its  origin  is  lost  in 
Asiatic  mysticism,  but  we  find  a  point  of  departure 
in  the  Anglo-Saxon  schools  of  the  Seventh  or  Eighth 
Century,  and  since  then  it  has  been  undergoing  the 
moral  transformations  of  succeeding  generations, 
until  in  our  own  day  Tennyson  has  embodied  its 
most  sensuous  features  in  his  "  Idyls  of  the  King," 
M.  Edgar  Quinet  has  used  it  to  develop  his  religious 


H2STOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE.  339 

and  political  reveries,  and  M.  de  la  Villemarque  has 
made  it  the  basis  of  brilliant  Historical  studies. 

The  Middle  Age  Literature  begins  with  Philip 
Augustus  and  ends  with  the  Renaissance.  It  is  the 
age  of  communal  wars,  anarchy,  the  Hundred  Years' 
War,  distress  and  ignorance  :  hence  the  pleadings 
of  the  young  Norman  poet,  Alain  Chartrier,  in  his 
"  Quadriloge  Invectif,"  and  the  eloquence  of  Chris- 
tine de  Pisan,  whom  Charles  V.  had  befriended, 
and  whose  beneficence  she  returned  by  urging  upon 
the  unworthy  Isabella  of  Bavaria  the  crying  needs 
of  the  poor,  despoiled  and  maltreated  by  the  quar- 
rels of  those  who  were  in  power. 

The  devout  and  meditative  mind  of  the  Middle 
Age  left  its  impress  upon  no  form  of  Art  more  than 
that  of  Literature.  All  through  the  Dark  Ages  the 
traditions  and  even  the  forms  and  themes  of  the 
classics  were  kept  intact,  and  this  was  with  the 
avowed  intention  of  making  them  subservient  to  the 
Christian  Epic,  which  was  the  ideal  held  before 
every  poet.  The  chief  narratives  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  were  written  out  in  the  verse  of 
Virgil  and  Homer.  Then  Roswitha  attempted  the 
"  Nativity  of  the  Virgin,"  and  finally  Gerson  embod- 
ied the  spirit  of  this  grandly  diversified  Age  in  his 
"Josephina" — which  is  valued  now  as  furnishing 
the  clew  to  the  authorship  of  the  "  Imitation  of 
Christ."  France  was  not  to  give  the  world  the  au- 
thor of  the  true  Christian  Epic,  but  we  cannot  over- 
estimate the  debt  we  owe  those  who  kept  alive  this 


240  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

sacred  spark  of  enthusiasm,  for  all  know  that  in 
Milton's  great  poem  this  enthusiasm  issued  in  the 
"noblest  work  which  the  human  imagination  has 
ever  attempted." 

The  Legend  was  only  another  expression  of  that 
naive  but  unswerving  faith  in  the  wealth  of  ideas 
furnished  Art  by  Revealed  Religion.  And  from  the 
Legend  to  the  Drama  the  transition  is  simple  and 
direct.  The  Mysteries  and  Moralities  were  the  ef- 
forts of  the  clergy  to  instruct  the  people  in  Historical 
truth,  for  as  scenic  representation  makes  a  more 
powerful  appeal  to  the  uncultivated  intellect  than 
abstract  discussion,  the  acting  out  of  the  Scripture 
narratives  was  not  only  an  ingenious  device,  but  an 
almost  indispensable  means  of  education. 

But  by  far  the  boldest  and  most  original  effort  of 
the  French  genius  was  its  adoption  of  the  vernacular 
in  pulpit  oratory.  The  Sermons  of  this  age  by 
Michael  Menot,  Olivier  Maillard,  and  Maurice  de 
Sully,  the  poor  peasant  boy  who  rose  to  be  one  of 
the  greatest  orators  of  any  age  and  the  originator  of 
the  magnificent  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  are  splen- 
did epitomes  of  History,  and  no  one  who  would 
know  the  genius  of  our  own  day  can  afford  to  slight 
these  great  works  which  give  the  first  intimation  of 
it. 

History,  itself,  in  this  age  is  less  valuable  than  any 
other  form  of  Literature.  Ville  Hardouim  had  cele- 
brated the  reign  of  Philip  Augustus  in  his  "  History 
of  the  Conquest  of  Constantinople,"  Louis  IX.  had 


HIS  TOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE.  24 1 

had  his  Joinville,  Froissart  had  chatted  as  garrulously 
on  paper  as  he  would  have  done  had  there  been  any- 
one to  listen  to  him  talk,  and  Louis  XI.  had  his  Phil- 
ippe de  Comines  and  still  the  art  of  writing  History 
was  undeveloped.  Montluc,  Brantome  and  De 
Thou  now  begin  to  substitute  the  narrative  for  mere 
chronological  record,  but  each  of  these  is  so  bigoted 
in  some  one  direction  that  nothing  but  a  partial, 
narrow  view  of  the  age  can  be  obtained  from  them. 

It  is  refreshing  then,  in  turning  to  the  great  period 
of  the  Renaissance  to  find  every  form  of  Literature 
reflecting  the  thoughts  and  feelings  peculiar  to  the 
age.  The  Sixteenth  Century,  embracing  the  Protest- 
ant Revolution,  the  benefits  of  the  printing-press,  the 
unearthing  of  ancient  Literature,  the  promotion  of 
educational  interests  and  the  rehabilitation  of  the 
language,  constitutes  the  line  of  demarcation  in 
passing  from  the  old  to  the  new  order  of  things. 
The  implacable  and  gloomy  Calvin,  by  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  Latin  and  ability  to  express  his 
ideas  with  energy  and  precision,  not  only  fixed  the 
form  of  the  language  and  gave  a  determined  character 
to  French  prose,  but  in  his  famous  Christian  Insti- 
tutes he  incarnates  the  very  essence  of  Sixteenth 
Century  Protestantism  ;  and,  like  Pascal  after  him, 
he  more  than  exhausts  the  Philosophy  of  his  age. 
France  paid  her  tribute  to  the  ancient  learning 
through  Vatable,  the  Hebraist ;  Danes,  the  great 
Greek  scholar;  Viete,  the  scientist  and  Guillaume 
Budee,  the  philologist  of  the  century.  Rabelais' 
16 


242 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


book  represents  the  new  ideas  as  to  education,  and 
Ronsard,  Regnier  and  Malherbe  write  only  in  the 
interests  of  culture. 

It  is  from  the  curious  work  entitled  the  "  Satyre 
Menippee,"  however,  that  we  gain  the  liveliest  con- 
ception of  the  times.  This  is  a  political  satire  de- 
scribing the  meeting  of  the  States  General  of  1593. 
Written  in  convivial  meetings  by  Pierre  Le  Roy, 
Nicolas  Rapin,  Jean  Passerat,  Chrestien  Florent  and 
Pierre  Pithou,  and  named  from  Varro's  Menippean 
Satires,  it  consists  of  various  speeches  which  are 
representative  of  the  political,  eccelesiastical  and 
socialistic  theories  then  contending  for  the  suprem- 
acy. And  as  an  Historical  event  this  celebrated 
Satire  killed  the  League,  paved  the  way  for  the 
ascendency  of  the  Politique  Party  and  assured  the 
triumph  of  Henry  IV. 

Boileau  was  born  in  the  room  in  which  the  "  Satyre 
Menippe'e  "  was  written.  The  idea  of  the  power  of 
the  pen  was  his  birth-right.  And  indeed  History 
shows  us  that  the  time  had  come  for  Literature  to 
exercise  its  full  powers.  The  Age  of  Louis  XIV. 
opened  in  reaping  the  benefits  sown  by  Richelieu  in 
the  strengthening  of  the  central  power  and  in  turn- 
ing the  attention  of  the  people  from  themselves  to 
their  monarchy.  Louis  XIV.  could  encourage  Litera- 
ture as  no  other  monarch  had  been  able  to  do  ;  hence 
it  took  a  bolder  flight  and  reveled  in  its  own  vigor. 
"  The  Seventeenth  Century  abounds  in  strong  charac- 
ters, strongly  developed,  All  have  a  masculine  sim- 


HISTORY  IN  LITER  A  TURE. 


243 


plicity  of  nature  which  is  the  distinctive  mark  of  their 
age,  an  age  especially  favorable  to  the  production  of 
typical  characters,  typical  king,  bishops,  ministers, 
dramatists,  monks,  and  courtiers." 

The  Eighteenth  Century  was  the  awakening  from  an 
uneasy  dream,  the  realization  that  the  idolized  king 
had  lulled  his  votaries  into  a  sleep  that  was  to  make 
them  forget  their  own  dignity,  their  real  honor,  their 
true  interests ;  hence  the  writings  of  Montesquieu, 
the  Abbe  Saint  Pierre,  Quesnay,  Voltaire  and  his 
disciples,  Diderot,  Beaumarchais,  Rousseau,  etc. 
The  way  for  the  Revolution  was  prepared  by  Litera- 
ture ;  and  throughout  the  entire  course  of  that  fearful 
struggle  every  question  which  could  possibly  come 
within  the  scope  of  literary  discussion  was  debated 
with  remorseless  fidelity.  This  Literature  is  not  to 
be  viewed  solely  as  the  ephemeral  work  of  publicists 
and  phamphleteers.  In  days  to  come  no  names  will 
be  more  famous ;  no  writings  so  scanned  as  those 
which  set  in  motion  the  forces  with  which  we  are 
still  grappling  in  fear  and  trembling.  Whether  it 
be  Mirabeau,  the  genius  of  political  eloquence,  the 
first  and  greatest  orator  of  the  Revolution  ;  or  Lally 
Tollendal,  deploring  the  disgrace  of  Necker  in 
"penetrating  accents,"  or  the  Abbe  Maury,  res- 
olute and  unflinching  in  advocating  the  preroga- 
tives of  the  clergy ;  or  Sieyes,  daring  to  publish  a 
pamphlet  entitled,  "  What  is  the  Third  Estate  ? "  or 
Camille  Desmoulins,  author  of  "  La  France  Libre," 


244  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

"  Les  Revolutions  de  la  France  et  Brabant,"  and 
"  Le  Vieux  Cordelier  " — the  reader  is  fascinated  by 
the  brilliant  picture  brought  before  the  mind.  The 
world  cannot  afford  to  forget  the  names  of  Andre 
Che'nier,  the  young  and  gifted  poet  who  perished 
on  the  scaffold  for  his  fearless  honesty  and  fidelity 
to  individual  convictions  ;  of  Fabre  d'  Eglantine, 
Collin  d'  Harville,  Bailly,  Verginaux  and  Mme. 
Roland.  Of  this  last  named  Ge'ruzez  says  :  "  All 
likes  and  dislikes  become  passions  in-  that  fervent 
soul,  and  all  passions  are  stamped  with  an  indelible 
purity."  The  sentiments  of  honor  and  duty  ever 
control  her,  and  her  death  is  heroic  and  grand,  for 
"  Life  filled  with  high  duty  is  happy,  but  death  re- 
ceived in  the  discharge  of  that  duty  is  thrice  glo- 
rious." Lavoisier,  Volney,  Garat  and  La  Harpe 
proclaim  the  end  of  the  Terror  and  direct  men's 
minds  in  other  channels  :  and  Mounier,  Mallet-du- 
Pan  and  Joseph  de  Maistre  begin  to  philosophize 
upon  the  data  furnished  by  the  awful  conflict. 
Never  does  Napoleon  himself  appear  in  a  more 
favorable  light  than  when  at  St.  Helena  he  aspires  to 
the  dignity  of  writing  History.  In  describing  those 
memorable  last  days,  M.  Duruy  says  (to  quote  one 
of  the  most  eloquent  passages  I  have  ever  seen): 
Le  ministere  anglais  sembla  prendre  a  tache  de  tuer 
lentement,  a  force  d '  outrages,  I'immortel  captive. 
Napoleon  endura  ces  tortures  avee  calme  et  dignite. 
II  ne  songea  qu'a  la  posterite  et  il  occupa  les  mornes 


HIS  TOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE.  24$ 

loisirs  de  sa  prison  a  dieter  1'histoire  de  ses  cam- 
pagnes."* 

It  would  be  rash  to  speak  too  confidently  of  the 
writers  who  shall  be  typical  and  representative  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century.  But  the  names  of  Carrel, 
de  Vigny,  de  Tocqueville,  Guizot  and  Thiers  pledge 
the  world  that  France  will  ever  lead  the  nations  in 
the  triumphal  march  of  human  advancement. 

Such,  of  course,  is  the  barest  outline  of  the  study 
of  History  in  Literature,  and  it  may  not  be  inappo- 
site to  ask,  What  are  the  practical  results  of  such  a 
study  ? 

First  of  all,  I  would  answer  myself,  were  the  la- 
bor involved  in  it  the  only  profit  to  be  reaped  this 
in  itself  would  be  an  immeasurable  compensation. 
Happiness  is  incompatible  with  the  torpor  of  the 
faculties.  All  work  is  ennobling,  but  in  the  work  of 
the  intellect  this  process  is  as  much  more  direct  as 
the  powers  of  the  mind  are  infinitely  more  noble, 
and  its  enjoyments  incomparably  more  exquisite 
than  those  which  the  capacities  of  the  body  can 
under  any  conditions  permit.  It  is  in  transforming 
the  curse  of  labor  into  a  blessing — a  miracle  which 
Divine  Power  is  perpetually  performing — that  men 

*  The  English  government  seemed  to  set  itself  to  work  to 
kill  the  immortal  captive  inch  by  inch,  by  dint  of  outrages. 
Napoleon  endured  these  tortures  with  calm  and  dignity.  He 
thought  only  of  posterity,  and  he  occupied  the  mournful 
leisure  of  his  prison  life  in  dictating  the  history  of  his  cam- 
paigns. 


246 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


discover  the  negative  character  of  evil,  that  without 
our  acquiescence  nothing  is  evil  in  itself,  that  there 
is  nothing  which  cannot  be  made  subservient  to 
higher  ends,  nothing  which  cannot  be  made  a  step- 
ping stone  towards  attaining  "  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  a  perfect  man."  Again,  it  is  by  means  of 
labor  that  man  finds  his  nearest  approximation  to 
creative  power.  And  it  is  in  intellectual  labor  that 
consciousness,  or  the  power  to  connect  the  acts  of 
the  mind  with  the  mind  itself,  is  developed.  And 
it  is  in  developed  consciousness  that  men  refuse  to 
hold  cheap  the  meaning  of  their  own  lives,  for,  as 
George  Eliot  says,  "  the  fuller  nature  desires  to  be 
an  agent,  to  create  and  not  merely  to  look  on  ; 
strong  love  hungers  to  bless  and  not  merely  to  be- 
hold blessing.  And  while  there  is  warmth  enough 
in  the  sun  to  feed  an  energetic  life,  there  will  still 
be  men  to  feel,  '  I  am  lord  of  this  moment's  change 
and  will  charge  it  with  my  soul.'  " 

But  it  is  not  only  as  a  means  that  such  a  study  is 
available.  "  Classical  studies  are  beyond  compar- 
ison," says  Cousin,  "  the  most  essential  of  all,  conduc- 
ing, as  they  do,  to  the  knowledge  of  our  humanity 
which  they  consider  under  all  its  mighty  aspects  and 
relations  ;  here  in  the  language  of  the  literature  of 
nations  who  have  left  behind  them  a  memorable 
trace  of  their  passage  upon  earth  ;  there  in  the 
pregnant  vicissitudes  of  History  which  continually 
renovate  and  improve  society :  and  finally  in  Philos- 
ophy which  reveals  to  us  the  simple  elements  and 


HIS  TOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE.  247 

the  more  uniform  organization  of  that  wondrous  be- 
ing, which  history,  literature,  and  languages  success- 
ively clothe  in  forms  the  most  diversified  and  yet  al- 
ways relative  to  some  more  or  less  important  part  of 
its  internal  constitution.  Classical  studies  maintain 
the  sacred  traditions  of  the  intellectual  and  moral 
life  of  our  humanity.  To  enfeeble  them  would,  in 
my  eyes,  be  an  act  of  barbarity,  an  attempt  against 
true  civilization,  and  in  a  certain  sort,  the  crime  of 
leze-humanity." 

The  consolations  of  Literature  are  inexhaustible. 
The  world's  misinterpretation  of  our  best  actions, 
the  power  of  circumstances  to  thwart  our  cherished 
schemes,  the  irony  we  see  in  our  own  destiny  could 
not  be  borne  with  equanimity  were  it  not  for  the 
more  than  refuge  to  be  found  in  the  pleasures  of  the 
intellect.  Nor  is  intellectual  labor  barren  of  relief 
for  those  deeper  and  more  mysterious  sufferings  of 
the  soul.  That  men  do  not  yet  discern  the  true  sig- 
nificance of  the  intellect  is  indisputable.  But  if,  as 
the  revered  Wayland  taught,  "  knowledge  of  every 
kind  has  in  its  very  nature  a  tendency  to  devotion," 
it  is  manifest  that  in  refusing  to  cultivate  the  intel- 
lect we  throw  away  a  priceless  means  toward  accom- 
plishing the  end  of  our  creation. 

That  intellectual  labor  has  been  abused  affords 
no  ground  for  argument.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
compass  of  man's  capacity  that  he  will  not  abuse. 
Look  at  its  influence  in  individual  lives.  Where 
books  and  ideas  are  not  discussed,  personal  char- 


248  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

acter  in  all  its  length  and  breadth  becomes  the  sub- 
ject of  conversation.  Irrespective  of  the  morai 
deterioration  that  is  here  inevitable,  this  has  a  most 
unhappy  effect  on  the  nervous  system  :  it  is  irritat- 
ing, it  destroys  serenity  of  mind,  it  takes  a  large 
amount  of  happiness  out  of  life.  And,  conversely, 
what  if  the  intellect  should  be  chief  among  the  pro- 
bationary elements  of  our  present  existence  ?  If 
the  victories  over  the  animal  propensities  of  the 
body  are  great  and  affect  the  development  of  what 
we  call  character,  the  conflict  between  the  moral  na- 
ture and  the  subtleties  of  human  reason  must  be  as 
intensified  in  meaning,  as  it  is  in  suffering.  If  of 
those  to  whom  much  is  given  much  is  to  be  required, 
does  it  not  immediately  follow  that  the  feeblest 
consciousness  of  intellect  assumes  the  character  of 
moral  obligation  ?  and  as  its  abuse  awaits  a  fearful 
punishment,  so  will  not  its  true  and  lawful  exercise 
bring  with  it  a  pure  and  bountiful  reward  ? 

But  it  is  especially  in  such  a  study  as  the  one  we 
have  sketched  that  the  larger  intellectual  influences 
that  affect  our  status  as  human  beings  are  found. 
To  aver,  as  I  have  done,  that  literary  master-pieces 
attain  their  celebrity  through  the  political  history 
involved  in  both  the  language  and  the  subject  seems 
to  annihilate  personal  responsibility  and  ignore 
individuality.  But,  in  truth,  no  study  can  more 
forcibly  demonstrate  human  accountability.  If 
there  is  History  in  Literature,  it  may  lessen  the 
burden  that  is  generally  thrown  on  the  individual 


HIS  TOR  Y  IN  LITER  A  TURE. 


249 


author,  but  it  is  to  assign  the  portion  due  to  the  in- 
dividual reader.  That  time,  place  and  universal 
culture  enter  into  the  composition  of  every  great 
work,  no  one  familiar  with  English  Literature  can 
fail  to  notice.  Froude,  in  his  fascinating  History, 
speaking  of  Shakespeare  says :  "  Such  greatness  is 
never  more  than  the  highest  degree  of  an  excellence 
which  prevails  widely  round  it  and  forms  the  environ- 
ment in  which  it  grows.  No  single  mind  in  single 
contact  with  the  facts  of  nature  could  have  created 
a  Lear  :  such  a  vast  conception  is  the  growth  of 
ages,  the  creation  of  a  nation's  spirit :  and  the  poet 
filled  with  the  power  of  that  spirit  has  but  given  it 
form  and  nothing  more  than  form.  Nor  would  the 
form  itself  have  been  attainable  by  an  isolated 
talent.  No  genius  can  dispense  with  experience : 
the  aberrations  of  power,  uriguided  or  ill  guided  are 
ever  in  proportion  to  its  intensity,  and  life  is  not 
long  enough  to  recover  from  inevitable  mistakes. 
No  great  general  ever  arose  out  of  a  nation  of  cow- 
ards, no  great  statesman  or  philosohper  out  of  a 
nation  of  materialists,  no  great  dramatist  except 
when  the  drama  was  the  passion  of  the  people." 
Cannot  any  child  see  that  unless  those  who  read  are 
educated  the  learned  few  can  play  as  many  jokes  on 
them  as  they  choose,  and,  as  the  children  say,  never 
be  found  out  ?  The  history  of  English  speaking 
people  is  full  of  generations  which  have  been  either 
the  dupes  of  erratic  genius,  or  the  obstacles  to  true 
individual  and  national  glory.  And  there  never 


250  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

was  a  time  when  this  danger  was  more  imminent 
than  it  is  to-day.  For  the  tendency  of  our  civiliza- 
tion to  equalize  all  classes  of  society  takes  power 
more  and  more  out  of  the  hands  of  the  individual, 
and  while  his  importance  diminishes,  that  of  the 
masses  constantly  increases.  Hence  to  wield  any 
kind  of  power,  the  individual  must  put  forth  an 
energy  that  is  almost  desperate  ;  his  expressed  opin- 
ions must  be  ten-fold  as  pronounced  as  his  inward 
convictions.  While  he  thus  arrests  the  attention  of 
the  people,  they  cannot  be  expected  to  pause  and 
see  through  the  exaggeration,  and  the  flaw  that  is 
ingrained  in  this  advocacy  disgusts  the  practical  few, 
imposes  on  the  unlearned  many,  and  tends  to  pro- 
duce morbid  melancholy  in  the  two  or  three  who 
understand  and  sympathize  with  the  author. 

There  is  no  surer  sign  of  the  times  than  the  cur- 
rent Literature  of  any  given  period.  When  the 
enthusiastic  crowd  carried  Voltaire  in  its  arms 
through  the  streets  of  Paris  and  suffocated  him 
with  roses,  the  French  Revolution  was  virtually 
accomplished.  Literature  says,  "  See  how  wicked  a 
man  Voltaire  was  !  "  but  History  says,  "  Look  at  the 
condition  of  society  that  could  welcome  such  writ- 
ings as  those  of  Voltaire  ! "  I  ask  which  of  the  two 
is  the  juster  judgment  ?  The  whole  testimony  of 
History  is  for  virtue  and  against  vice.  Whatever 
Literature  may  boast  of  her  own  realm,  History  con- 
stantly declares  that  the  standard  of  morals  is  the 
standard  of  taste.  And  while  it  is  true  that  the 


HISTORY  IN  LITER  A  TURE. 


251 


great  revolving  wheel  of  time  must  crush  and  over- 
whelm all  that  thwarts  the  purposes  of  its  revolutions, 
yet  this  same  record  of  its  mighty  cycles  is  impartial 
enough  to  show  that  often  in  individual  cases  the 
judgment  of  posterity  is  far  harsher  than  is  strictly 
just,  and  that  where  we  stigmatize,  we  might  often 
weep. 

It  is  with  a  perfect  realization  of  the  expanded 
scope  and  magnificent  import  of  History  that  Buckle 
in  his  incomparable  "  History  of  Civilization  "  has 
said :  "  To  solve  the  great  problem  of  affairs  ;  to 
detect  those  hidden  circumstances  which  determine 
the  march  and  destiny  of  nations,  and  to  find  in  the 
events  of  the  past  a  key  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
future  is  nothing  less  than  to  unite  into  a  single 
science  all  the  laws  of  the  moral  and  physical 
world."  The  sublimity  of  such  a  glorious,  concep- 
tion is  full  of  awe  and  solemnity.  What  self-denials 
and  sufferings  are  too  great  if  we  can  but  emerge 
from  the  basilar  instincts  that  claim  us  to  material- 
ism !  Who  that  is  capable  of  a  noble  thought  can 
hesitate  to  rejoice  that  his  fellow-man  has  given  it 
an  utterance  to  which  his  faltering  tongue  and 
trembling  hand  were  too  weak  even  to  aspire  ?  It 
is  a  subject  of  daily,  of  hourly,  rejoicing  that  such 
men  have  lived — to  unravel  the  web  of  events  and 
bring  forth  from  the  chaos  of  unutterable  longing 
and  vain  strivings,  shrouded  in  a  more  than  mid- 
night darkness,  the  exalted  idea  of  Progress,  to  be 
the  guiding  star  of  our  race,  as  it  is  already  the 


252 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


hope  of  noble  souls  in  the  long  and  laborious  pil- 
grimage of  humanity  toward  the  unknown  end 
which  Providence  has  marked  out  for  it.  Then 

"  Heureux  qui  jusqu'  au  temps  du  terme  de  sa  vie, 
Des  beaux-arts  amoureux,  peut  cultiver  leurs  fruits  ! 
II  brave  1' injustice,  il  calme  ses  ennuis ; 
II  pardonne  aux  humains,  il  rit  de  leur  delire, 
Et  de  sa  main  mourant  il  touche  encore  sa  lyre."  * 

*  Happy  is  he  who,  as  his  life  draws  to  its  close, 
A  lover  of  the  fine  arts,  can  cultivate  their  fruits ! 
He  braves  injustice,  he  soothes  his  weariness, 
He  pardons  human  beings,  he  laughs  at  their  delirium, 
And  with  his  dying  hand  he  touches  once  more  his  lyre. 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 

As  the  heir  of  all  the  ages,  we,  naturally,  look 
upon  our  age  as  one  blessed  above  all  others.  And 
if  a  second  thought  suggests  the  disadvantages  of  an 
over-refined  civilization,  we  seldom  dwell  upon  it 
long  enough  to  ask  what  those  disadvantages  really 
are.  That  an  artificial  life,  bringing  in  its  train  artifi- 
cial feelings,  opinions,  sentiments,  and  beliefs,  is  one 
of  these  evils,  we  rather  recoil  from  either  stating  or 
admitting.  Yet  it  is  hard  to  deny  that  the  legisla- 
tion which  turns  night  into  day  and  day  into  night, 
which  decrees  that  the  taste  must  be  cultivated  in  the 
simple  matter  of  food  and  drink,  and  the  body  tor- 
tured in  order  to  be  properly  attired,  is  character- 
istic of  a  social  organization  which  has  traveled  very 
far  on  its  way  from  a  "  state  of  nature." 

When  we  think  for  a  moment  of  that  pressing 
weight  of  authoritative  mandate  which  is  incidental 
to,  and  inseparable  from,  the  moral  atmosphere  of 
such  a  civilization  as  ours,  we  are  compelled  to  ac- 
knowledge that  one  of  the  far-reaching  effects  of  its 
despotism  must  be  to  deprive  man  of  that  sponta- 
neity of  thought,  that  inward,  self-originating  force, 

253 


254 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


which  is  of  the  very  essence  of  natural,  free,  untram- 
meled  being. 

But  when  we  remember  that  the  second  generation 
which  appeared  upon  earth  found  a  set  of  opinions, 
beliefs,  etc.,  already  formed  for  it,  we  find  in  it  the 
prototype  situation  of  all  subsequent  generations ; 
and  as  the  child  finds  that  he  cannot  advance  one  step 
in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  until  he  accepts  as 
true  much  that  he  cannot  possibly  prove  to  be  true, 
it  would  seem  that  a  peculiar  and,  to  some  extent, 
mysterious  responsibility  is  bound  up  with  the  ac- 
ceptance or  rejection  of  accredited  beliefs. 

One  may  be  artificial  in  holding  beliefs  which  are 
in  themselves  true  and  genuine;  and,  conversely, 
true  (i.e.,  honest  at  the  time)  in  holding  opinions 
which  are  false  and,  if  false,  pernicious. 

Still  further,  no  sincerity  in  believing  can  be  a 
guarantee  for  the  efficacy  of  the  belief.  Our  eccle- 
siastical fathers  had  the  firmness  and  the  boldness  to 
declare  that  "  They  are  to  be  accursed  that  presume 
to  say  that  every  man  shall  be  saved  by  the  Law  or 
Sect  which  he  professeth,  so  that  he  be  diligent  to 
frame  his  life  according  to  that  Law  and  the  light  of 
nature."  There  is  such  a  thing  as  objective  Truth, 
and  that  Law  or  that  Sect  may  be  as  far  from  this 
Truth  as  the  east  is  from  the  west. 

We  know  the  common  method  men  take  to  flatter 
themselves  that  they  are  in  the  right,  that  they  hold 
the  true  opinion,  that  they  cannot  possibly  be  mis- 
taken :  they  believe  in  the  settlement  of  all  questions 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


255 


by  an  appeal  to  numbers  ;  whatever  the  majority 
decides  upon  is  right.  And  though  History  shows 
us  over  and  over  again  that  the  minority  was  in  the 
right,  and  that  generations  suffered  because  the 
many  would  not  accept  the  truth  which  the  few  dis- 
cerned, the  world  still  prostrates  itself  before  collec- 
tive opinion.  Let  the  individual  or  the  minority  un- 
dertake a  course  of  action  at  variance  with  this  col- 
lective judgment,  and  the  world  will  resort  to  the 
most  vicious  means  that  can  be  conceived  of  for  dis- 
covering truth.  Its  language  is  "  Succeed,  and  we 
will  believe  you  were  in  the  right ;  fail,  and  we  will 
decide  that  you  were  in  the  wrong."  And  let  it  be 
remembered  that  when  the  world  speaks  of  success, 
it  always  means  worldly,  visible,  tangible  success. 
Now  can  anything  more  absurd  than  this  appeal  to 
the  result  be  conceived  of,  when  the  very  search 
after  truth  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  we  live 
in  a  world  full  of  error  ?  He  is  already  vanquished 
and  a  craven  who  cannot  hold  fast  to  the  assurance 
that  truth  will  be  truth  whether  it  is  believed  by  one 
or  a  million,  and  whether  it  ruins  or  crowns  its  advo- 
cate. 

A  common  fallacy  charges  the  intellect  with  the 
entire  responsibility  in  ascertaining  this  Truth. 
And  upon  no  other  grounds  than  a  pretended  ad- 
miration for  intellect  the  world  is  constantly  chal- 
lenged to  admire  those  thinkers  who  have  set  aside 
accredited  beliefs  ;  not  because  they  have  discovered 
the  Truth,  but  simply  because  they  have  voiced  the 


256 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


vague  notions  of  the  multitude  :  and  this  by  a  flatter- 
ing appeal  to  its  intellectual  power. 

It  has  even  gone  so  far  as  to  pity  and  compassion- 
ate those  thinkers  who  (trusting  solely  to  intellect- 
ual discernment)  have  proved  themselves  utterly  un- 
able to  perceive  the  Truth.  Only  thus  can  men 
relieve  themselves  of  a  heavy  burden. 

The  classification  of  our  mental  powers  is  at  fault. 
We  find  in  one  of  the  best  compendiums  of  Mental 
Philosophy  ever  issued  the  gravest  errors  on  this 
subject, — statements  to  the  effect  that  if  the  intellect 
be  keen,  the  heart  will  be  warm  and  the  will  strong ; 
whereas  nothing  is  more  evident  than  the  almost 
universal  maladjustment  of  these  powers,  nothing 
more  apparent  than  the  rarity  of  a  symmetrical 
nature. 

There  is  no  law  by  which  the  intellect  gives  its 
limits  either  to  the  heart  or  the  will.  But  one  of 
these  is  generally  the  predominating  power  of  the 
mind,  and  the  intellect  may  be  emotionalized  and 
the  heart  intellectualized,  or  both  may  be  swallowed 
up  in  a  will-power,  which,  as  in  the  case  of  Napo- 
leon, has  no  limits. 

When  confronted  by  such  a  life  as  that  of  Mar- 
cus Aurelius  one  feels  baffled  in  finding  that  so  lofty 
a  moralist,  so  keen  a  thinker  could  have  made  one 
of  the  greatest  blunders  that  has  ever  been  made  in 
all  History ;  for,  in  striving  to  suppress  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  it  is  evident  that  he  had  not  the  faint- 
est suspicion  that  it  was  to  become  not  only  the  re- 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


257 


ligion  of  the  Empire,  but  of  the  world.  If  the  age 
in  which  he  lived  could  account  for  this  position, 
how  was  it  that  there  were  those  in  "  Caesar's 
household  "  many  years  before  who  could  discover 
the  truth  in  Christianity — especially  when  at  that 
particular  time  they  had  everything  to  lose  and 
nothing  to  gain  by  it  ?  Why  are  some  men  per- 
mitted to  see  more  of  the  Truth  than  others  ? 
What  are  the  principles  of  mental  cultivation  which 
tend  to  clear  perception  of  the  Truth  ? 

The  perception  of  Truth  is  not  granted  at  all  on 
the  ground  of  mental  illumination,  but  in  virtue  of 
character.  In  ignorance  of  this,  the  many  are  per- 
fectly content  to  see  truth  in  a  single  line,  to  have 
it  touch  only  one  small  part  of  their  nature ;  and 
those  who  teach  the  young  dread  the  subject  of 
Free  Inquiry,  because  they  do  not  know  how  to 
explain  away  the  fact  that  some  infidels  have  dis- 
covered some  truth.  It  is  truth,  indeed,  in  less 
than  a  line,  in  a  mere  point,  as  it  were,  for  man  is 
less  correctly  represented  as  pure  intellect  than  as 
nothing  but  moral  emotion  or  volitional  agency. 
But  character  is  the  fusion  of  all  the  mental  powers ; 
it  betrays  the  whole  being  at  once  and  without 
controversy. 

Metaphysicians  of  the  greatest  celebrity  and  em- 
inence have  puzzled  over  the  causes  of  belief. 
What  are  the  principles  of  association  or  what  the 
intuitive  cognitions  by  which  we  are  induced  to  be- 
lieve this  instead  of  that,  to  assent  to  that  which 
'7 


258  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

seems  true  to-day,  but  is  proved  false  by  to-morrow  ? 
Every  effort  that  can  possibly  be  made  has  been 
made  to  ward  off  the  idea  that  we  are  actuated  in 
our  beliefs  by  anything  but  pure  mental  perception. 
But  all  logicians  know  that  the  intellect  can  follow 
certain  steps  of  an  argument  with  perfect  satisfac- 
tion while  the  whole  being  revolts  from  the  conclu- 
sions reached,  though  it  is  utterly  unable  to  invali- 
date the  reasoning  or  repudiate  the  error.  Is  it  not 
evident,  then,  that  the  truth  does  not  address  itself 
to  the  intellect  alone  ? 

Setting  aside  such  beliefs  as  result  from  axiomatic 
propositions,  the  evidence  of  the  senses  and  facts 
uncontested  by  personal  interests,  I  think  we  shall 
find,  upon  closer  examination,  that  our  beliefs  are 
largely  influenced  by  our  desires.  There  are  those 
who  say  (and  especially  with  reference  to  the  Arti- 
cles of  the  Christian  Faith),  I  am  not  so  happily 
constituted  that  I  can  believe  what  I  want  to  be- 
lieve. Now  that  is  exactly  what  they  are  doing,  and 
not  they  only,  but  all  of  us  are  so  constituted  that 
we  do,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  believe  only  what  we  de- 
sire to  believe.  Our  morbidness  must  be  confirmed 
indeed  when  we  habitually  and  spontaneously  look 
on  the  dark  side  of  doubtful  matters  and  prefer  to 
believe  that  true  which  runs  counter  to  our  wishes. 
Here  we  have  wish  opposed  to  wish.  Whichever 
one  triumphs,  it  will  be  because  of  its  own  strength, 
not  that  of  some  foreign  power.  In  every  depart- 
ment of  life  the  beliefs  of  all  non-experimentalists 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


are  thus  coerced;  and  the  smallest  amount  of  re- 
flection will  render  it  evident  that  such  a  condition 
of  things  is  inevitable.  Certain  statements  of 
Chemists,  Astronomers,  Physical  Geographers,  etc. 
are  accepted  by  the  unlearned  only  because  they  in- 
involve  no  personal  considerations,  i.e.,  make  no 
moral  demands.  Let  similar  scientific  statements 
assume  a  personal  character,  as  in  Political  Econo- 
my, Physiology,  and  Psychology,  and  the  masses  of 
men  flatly  refuse  to  give  them  a  hearing.  Wonder- 
ful is  the  pliancy  of  that  mind  which  can  believe  in 
the  existence  of  the  tombs  of  Hector  and  Achilles 
(while  the  world  doubts  —  and  cares  still  less  — 
whether  Hector  and  Achilles  ever  lived)  and  yet 
find  it  difficult  to  believe  in  the  Resurrection,  the 
best  authenticated  fact  in  History  ! 

One  of  the  hasllowest  arguments  in  the  world,  — 
that  because  a  man  is  born  a  Christian,  a  Momham- 
medan,  or  a  Pagan,  therefore,  one  religion  is  as 
good  as  another  —  is  always  turning  up;  iterated 
and  reiterated  we  meet  it  in  many  different  works  ; 
it  has  a  perennial  charm  for  some  minds.  But  no 
one  can  seriously  believe  that  it  addresses  itself  to 
the  intellect.  See  how  men  have  twisted  and  per- 
verted the  meaning  of  this  fact.  Because  a  man 
teaches  his  son  a  false  religion,  they  say  we  are  un- 
der a  system  of  fatalism,  no  son  is  responsible  tor 
his  religion  :  when  the  true  conclusion  is  not  that  no 
son  is  responsible  for  his  religion,  but  that  every 
parent  is.  It  is  wholly  to  waive  the  consciousness 


260  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

of  this  responsibility  that  men  give  heed  to  non- 
sense which  would  otherwise  disgust  them. 

A  spurious  morality  calls  attention  to  the  obliga- 
tions of  children  to  parents  ;  never  to  the  obliga- 
tions of  parents  to  children.  In  order  to  get  rid  of 
the  responsibility  involved  in  the  parental  relation — 
a  divinely-invested  power,  in  the  outrageous  abuse 
of  which  men  openly  glory,  the  ground  is  taken 
that  the  Bible  is  the  authority  for  this,  while  Natu- 
ral Religion  and  the  testimony  of  every  fact  around 
us  prove  that  penalties  and  rewards  of  the  most 
stringent  character  are  bound  up  in  the  parental  re- 
lation, and  nothing  but  propriety  and  sentiment  in 
the  filial  relation,  which  from  the  derelictions  of 
parents  themselves  is  so  often  felt  to  be  a  merely 
nominal  tie. 

In  nothing  is  the  Inspiration  of  the  Bible  more 
evident  than  in  the  fact  that  all  its  precepts  are  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  our  natural  feelings  and  per- 
ceptions, to  what  we  should  have  supposed  to  be  the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.  Then,  if  the  Bible 
seems  to  place  greater  stress  upon  the  obligations 
of  children  than  upon  those  of  parents,  it  is  be- 
cause we  would  not  naturally  discover  these  obliga- 
tions. They  are  not  inherent-in  this  system  of 
things.  It  is  the  fulfilling  of  these  obligations  that 
constitutes  religion,  while  the  discharge  of  parental 
obligations  is  mere  morality.  I  do  not  mean  to 
make  any  distinction  between  that  which  is  right  in 
itself,  and  that  which  is  right  because  of  the  Divine 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART.  26l 

fiat.  I  know  of  nothing  which  is  right  except  be- 
cause of  the  Divine  Will.  But  there  are  many 
moral  laws  and  obligations  which  are  self-evident 
and  automatically  punitive,  and  the  obligations  of 
children  are  not  of  this  nature. 

That  some  men  are  Christians  just  as  others  are 
Mohammedans  and  Buddhists,  is  undoubtedly  true. 
But  how  can  there  be  any  fatalism  about  this,  when 
there  was  a  time  in  which  neither  the  Divine  Re- 
former and  His  Apostles,  nor  Mohammed,  nor 
Buddha  lived  on  earth  ?  Each  system  was  an  inno- 
vating system,  and  some  sons  must  have  thought 
for  themselves  in  order  to  establish  the  system. 
Moreover,  there  is  not  a  country  upon  the  face  of 
the  earth  in  which  error  does  not  stand  by  the  side 
of  truth,  even  that  degree  of  truth  which  is  as  yet 
there  discerned  ;  and  there  never  has  been  a  state 
of  affairs  in  which  the  most  earnest,  dogmatic,  and 
authoritative  teaching  of  some  fathers  has  not  been 
coolly,  deliberately,  and  defiantly  set  aside  by  some 
sons. 

But  the  most  striking  and  peculiar  oversight  in* 
this  discussion  is  that  concerning  the  effect  of 
Truth  itself  upon  the  character.  Men  say  if  all 
religions  present  their  prophets,  their  sacred  books, 
their  martyrs,  and  their  miracles,  how  shall  we  know 
which  is  the  true  religion  ?  Each  one  will  assume 
that  religion  to  be  true  in  which  he  has  been 
trained.  But  this  is  not  the  fact.  The  error  is 
based  upon  the  assumption  that  all  the  religions  of 


262  STUDIES  Iff  CRITICISM. 

the  heathen  world  have  been  equally  false.  But 
what  a  vast  difference  between  the  Phoenicians  and 
the  Persians !  What  a  world  of  thought  between 
Druidism  and  Brahmanism !  Buddhism  was  an 
improvement  upon  Brahmanism.  The  Monotheism 
of  Socrates  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  as  great  an  im- 
provement upon  the  Polytheism  of  the  Greeks  as 
Christianity  was  upon  Judaism.  We  must  get  into 
the  realm  of  the  actual.  You  must  deny  that  men 
can  perceive  degrees  of  comparison  in  anything  if 
you  take  the  ground  that  they  cannot  perceive  them 
in  religion.  Until  it  can  be  proved  that  Christianity 
does  not  present  the  Truth  as  it  is  for  all  men  and 
all  time,  we  have  the  best  of  reasons  for  believing 
in  it. 

The  world  is  challenged  upon  exactly  the  same 
grounds  to  admire  the  character  of  Christ  as  it  is  to 
admire  that  of  Socrates. .  Unless  there  is  this  per- 
ception of  the  Truth  among  men,  intercommunica- 
tion is  impossible.  Anything  like  universal  mental 
intercommunication  is  out  of  the  question.  It  is 
•  no  more  possible  that  men  should  share  ideas  to 
any  great  extent  than  that  they  should  share  patriot- 
ism, government,  family  life,  and  individuality.  But 
it  is  possible  that  they  should  share  love,  joy,  peace, 
long-suffering,  gentleness,  meekness,  goodness,  faith, 
against  which  there  is  no  law,  in  any  corner  of 
the  universe.  It  is  to  elude  the  recognition  of  this 
that  so  much  emphasis  is  laid  upon  belief  in  the  his- 
torical facts  connected  with  Christ  and  His  Re- 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


263 


ligion.  Ingenuity,  subtlety,  guess  work  of  the  most 
laborious  description  are  employed  to  distract  the 
attention  from  the  real  thing  at  issue.  It  is  not  evi- 
dence, external  or  internal,  that  we  need,  to  prove 
the  truth  of  Christianity.  The  question  is  "  Do  you 
want  that  Religion  to  be  true  ?  "  If  you  do,  you 
are  a  believer;  if  you  do  not,  you  are  an  atheist, 
though  you  be  invested  with  every  honor  which  the 
Church  can  confer. 

Disingenuousness  is  the  great  enemy  of  the  Truth, 
and  the  only  formidable  foe  against  which  we  have 
to  guard  ourselves.  It  is  so  covert,  so  subtle,  so 
truly  satanic,  that  many  fall  victims  to  it  all  uncon- 
sciously. Among  literary  works,  Buckle's  "  History 
of  Civilization  in  England  "  is  the  outcome  of  a 
disingenuousness  which  is  almost  unparalleled  in  all 
Literature.  He  may  not  have  been  conscious  of  it, 
and  without  proof  we  need  not  believe  that  he  set 
this  before  him  as  the  object  of  his  work.  But 
seldom  has  anything  more  pronounced  in  this  direc- 
tion been  produced.  To  form  one's  hypothesis  first 
and  then  collect  the  facts  to  support  it  may  be  al- 
most called  a  crime  in  moral  discussion,  and  if  pur- 
sued in  the  affairs  of  the  world  would  be  totally 
subversive  of  mutual  faith  and  trust.  Deductive 
reasoning,  the  peculiar  prerogative  of  Mathematics 
and  the  Mathematical  Sciences,  can  be  employed 
with  profit  only  upon  questions  which  involve  no 
moral  interests.  Imagine  the  treachery  of  that  man, 
who,  in  meeting  you,  assumes  a  knowledge  of 


264  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

your  character  and  then  works  down  to  its  details 
upon  the  basis  of  this  assumption  !  Such  a  process 
would  be  just  as  unfair  were  the  assumption  that  of 
a  perfect  character  as  if  it  were  that  of  a  most  im- 
perfect character,  for  it  is  as  painful  as  it  is  injurious 
to  be  stereotyped  better  than  one  is. 

There  is  no  easier,  simpler,  more  childish  method 
of  Historical  investigation  than  this.  By  adopting 
it  anyone  might  prove  anything  :  for  certainly  there 
are  facts  enough  to  be  ferreted  out :  and  why 
should  not  a  certain  array  of  them  prove  whatever 
the  author  bids  them  'prove  ?  The  philosophical 
mind  knows  by  intuition  that  there  are  some  points 
upon  which  one  might  keep  on  collecting  facts  for 
ever  and  yet  not  be  able  to  arrive  at  the  Truth. 
Everyone  knows  that  when  the  interest  is  once 
aroused  in  a  certain  subject,  that  subject,  though 
never  before  noticed,  is  now  encountered  every- 
where. The  eye  see.s  what  the  heart  wishes  it  to 
see.  The  man  who  has  a  hobby  finds  that  hobby 
in  subjects  which  to  the  unprejudiced  mind  do  not 
bear  upon  it  in  the  remotest  degree.  This  principle 
of  self-impartation  is  the  essential  element  in  criti- 
cism, for : 

"  Minds  that  have  nothing  to  confer 
Find  little  to  perceive." 

If  you  are  sensitive  upon  any  one  point,  you  find 
people  laying  your  heart  bare  on  all  sides.  Buckle 
could  not  pretend  to  disguise  his  personal  interest 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART.        •     26$ 

in  his  investigations  into  the  causes  of  civilization. 
That  interest  gives  his  book  its  chief  charm.  But 
that  is  just  where  he  loses  his  case.  He  proves  that 
he  is  no  dispassionate  seeker  after  abstract  Truth, 
whatever  he  may  have  thought  about  himself.  One 
feels  that  just  as  fascinating  a  book  as  his  might  be 
written  upon  all  that  long  list  of  facts  which  he  did 
not  notice  or  collect. 

A  disingenuous  statement  is  a  very  different 
thing  from  a  disingenuous  method.  The  impression 
received  from  the  latter  may  be  agreeable  or  dis- 
tasteful according  to  the  previous  tenor  of  thought 
and  training :  but  the  impression  from  the  former 
is  direct  and  much  more  harmful.  If  a  false  im- 
pression is  to  be  conveyed,  the  end  will  be  at- 
tained with  greater  ease  by  a  bold  falsehood  than  by 
a  mode  of  argument.  A  distinguished  critic  com- 
menting upon  the  "  Thesmophoriazusae  "  of  Aristoph- 
anes says :  "  The  finest  point  about  the  Comedy 
is  its  humorous  insight  into  the  workings  of  women's 
minds,  its  clear  sense  of  what  a  topsy-turvy  world 
we  should  have  to  live  in  if  women  were  the  law- 
givers and  governors."  It  is  by  such  insinuations 
that  the  world  is  hoodwinked  upon  questions  of 
vital  importance.  When  we  stop  to  think,  we  know, 
of  course,  that  the  world  is  what  it  is  because  of  the 
share  which  women  have  had  in  its  political  govern- 
ment. But  so  deliberately  is  this  ignored  upon  gen- 
eral principles,  that  a  remark  like  the  above  not 
only  passes  muster,  but  provokes  the  mirth  and 


266  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

admiration  of  the  world.  The  tone  of  insincerity 
in  this  one  statement  excited  my  suspicions  and,  in 
the  course  of  the  most  desultory  reading  in  the 
world,  I  resolved  to  observe  the  number  and  charac- 
ter of  the  women  who  have  been  enrolled  upon  the 
page  of  History  as  sovereigns  or  legal  rulers.  Let 
me  run  over  my  list  and  then  offer  some  suggestions. 

Boadicea,  the  warrior  Queen  of  the  Iceni. 

Semiramis. 

The  Queen  of  Sheba. 

Cartismandua,  Sovereign  of  the  Brigantes. 

Thuoris,  Regent  and  virtual  Queen  of  Egypt,  who  brought 
up  Moses. 

Martia. 

Tomyris,  Queen  of  the  Massagetae. 

Deborah,  "  a  Ruler  in  Israel." 

Sparetta,  Queen  of  the  Sacae. 

Artemisia,  II. 

Ada,  reigned  four  years  at  Halicarnassus. 

Artemisia,  wife  of  Darius  and  contemporary  with  Xerxes. 

Parysatis,  wife  of  Darius  Nothus. 

Athaliah. 

Camilla,  Queen  of  the  Volscians. 

Placidia,  sister  of  Honorious  (404),  ruled  Western  Empire 
during  the  minority  of  Valentinian. 

Pheretina,  grandmother  of  Baltus  IV.,  Regent  in  Cyrene. 

Cleopatra  (181-173,  B«c-)>  Regent  for  her  son,  Ptolemy  VI., 
"whose  administration,"  says  Rawlinson,  "was  vigorous  and 
successful." 

Another  Cleopatra  ruled  ten  years  for  her  son  Lathyrus. 

Berenice  (B.C.  81). 

Alexandra,  widow  of  Alexander  Jannaeus  (B.C.  77.,)  of 
Judaea,  reigned  nine  years.  Milman  says,  "  She  was  a  woman 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART.  26/ 

of  masculine  understanding  and  energy  of  character,"  making 
her  prosperous  reign  a  memorable  one  in  those  stormy  times. 

Dido,  Queen  of  Carthage. 

Chloris,  Queen  of  Pylos. 

Clytemnestra,  Regent  of  Mykense. 

Penelope,  Regent  of  Ithaca. 

Hatasu,  Queen  of  Egypt,  B.C.  1500. 

Nitocris,  Queen  of  Egypt. 

Nitocris,  Queen  of  Assyria. 

Zenobia. 

Theophano,  Regent  for  her  son  Otto  III.,  983. 

Adelheid,  Regent  for  her  grandson,  Otto  III.,  991. 

Margaret,  Queen  of  Norway  (1397),  under  whom  occurred 
the  famous  Union  of  Calmar. 

Isabella  of  Castile,  for  extravagant  praises  see  Prescott. 

Cleopatra,  Queen  of  Egypt,  B.C.,  30. 

Eirene,  Empress  of  Constantinople  (797),  caused  the  di- 
vision of  Eastern  and  Western  Empires. 

Hedwig,  Queen  of  Poland. 

Christina,  Queen  of  Sweden. 

Joanna  I.,  Queen  of  Naples,  1343-1382. 

Joanna  II.,  Queen  of  Naples,  1419-1435. 

"  The  great  Queen  Regent  "  (Milman),  Maria  de  Molina  of 
Spain,  1324. 

Maria,  Queen  of  Portugal  and  Brazil. 

Isabella  II.,  Queen  of  Spain. 

Elizabeth  of  England. 

Mary  of  England. 

Mary  II.,  governed  England  entirely  during  continental 
wars  of  William — see  Macaulay. 

Queen  Anne. 

Queen  Victoria. 

Mary  of  Scots. 

Lady  Jane  Grey. 

Lady  Arabella  Stuart. 

Mathilda,  Queen  of  England,  1141. 


268  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Eleanor  of  Aquitaine,  Regent  for  her  son  Richard. 

Constance  of  Brittany. 

Isabella,  wife  of  Edward  II.,  of  England. 

Margaret  of  Anjou,  wife  of  Henry  VI.,  ruled  England  dur- 
ing the  War  of  the  Roses,  1460. 

Mary  of  Guise,  Regent  of  Scotland. 

Margaret  Tudor,  wife  of  James  IV.,  Regent  of  Scotland. 
Jeanne  d'  Albret.  D'Aubigne  says  of  her  :  "  She  had  nothing 
of  the  woman  in  her  except  her  sex :  her  whole  soul  was  given 
up  to  manly  things,  her  powerful  mind  occupied  in  great  af- 
fairs, her  heart  invincible  in  great  adversities.  She  was  the 
noblest  woman  of  her  time,  a  pillar  of  light,  shining  in  the 
gloom  and  corruption  of  the  age." 

Isabella,  wife  of  Philip  Augustus,  Regent  of  France. 

Blanche  of  Castile,  "  who  ruled,"  says  J.  S.  Mill,  "  in  a  man- 
ner hardly  equalled  by  any  prince  among  her  contempora- 
ries." 

Anne  of  Beaujeu,  Regent  for  eight  years,  and  according  to 
G.  W.  Kitchin  next  to  the  best  Ruler  France  ever  had. 

Louise  of  Savoy. 

Catherine  de  Medici. 

Marie  de  Medici. 

Anne  of  Austria. 

Marie  Therese,  1672. 

Henrietta,  sister-in-law  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  sister  of  Charles 
II.,  made  the  Treaty  of  Alliance  in  1670  between  France  and 
England  against  Holland.  See  Guizot. 

Marie  Louise,  1813  and  1814 

Empress  Eugenie,  1859  and  1870. 

Catherine  I.,  Empress  of  Russia,  according  to  Dr.  Lord  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  individuals  who  ever  lived. 

Anne,  Empress  of  Russia. 

Elizabeth,  Empress  of  Russia. 

Catherine  II.,  of  Russia. 

Sophia,  Regent  of  Russia,  "  ruled  well  for  seven  years  and 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


269 


with  advantage  to  Russia."  See  Schuyler's  "  Peter  the 
Great." 

Pulcheria,  Regent  of  Eastern  Empire,  414. 

Eudocia  Augusta,  of  Eastern  Empire  in  Eleventh  Century. 

Agnes,  Regent  for  Henry  IV.,  of  Germany. 

Gertrude,  widow  of  Henry  the  Proud,  and  Richenza, 
"  women  of  a  manly  spirit,  defended  Saxony  against  Albert 
the  Bear."  See  C.  T.  Lewis. 

The  Sainted  Elizabeth  of  Hungary. 

Maria  Theresa,  Queen  of  Hungary  and  Empress  of  Ger- 
many. 

Joan  of  Flanders  ruled  Brittany  for  nineteen  years. 

Joan  of  Pentievre  contested  the  claims  of  the  above  for  nine 
years  and  convoked  the  States  General. 

Blanche  of  Montferrat  ruled  Savoy,  1494. 

Jacqueline,  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Netherlands  in  her  own 
right. 

Mary  of  Burgundy,  Ruler  of  the  Netherlands. 

Margaret  of  Austria,  Regent  of  the  Netherlands.  Kitchin 
says,  "  She  had  all  the  strength  which  ought  to  have  belonged 
to  her  brother,  Philip  the  Handsome.  To  successful  states- 
craft  she  added  good  government  and  an  enlightened  love 
for  the  Arts  and^ciences." 

Mary,  Queen  of  Hungary  and  Governor  of  the  Netherlands. 

Margaret  of  Parma,  Governor  of  the  Netherlands  during 
the  stormiest  period  of  their  history. 

Queen  Caroline  of  Naples,  who  took  the  government  out  of 
the  hands  of  her  husband  (1790).  See  Ruffini,  Mme.  Vigee 
Lebrun  and  C.  D.  Yonge. 

The  Princess  of  Parma,  second  wife  of  Philip  V.,  of  Spain, 
"  under  whose  government  Spain  once  more  became  a  power," 
See  Voltaire's  "  Siecle  de  Louis  XIV." 

The  beloved  Bertha,  Queen  of  the  Burgundians,  eleven  cent- 
uries ago.  Her  age  was  called  a  golden  one.  The  proverbs 
of  the  Germans  and  Italians  introduce  her  name  as  significant 
of  good  old  times  like  those  of  Queen  Bess.  See  E.  P.  Thwing. 


270 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


Catherine  Larcheveque  de  Parthenay,  Governor  of  La 
Rochelle  during  the  famous  siege.  For  unlimited  praises  see 
Voltaire  and  Guizot. 

Louise  de  Gusman  of  Portugal,  1656. 

Daughter  of  the  Duke  de  Nemours  who  deposed  Alphonse 
of  Portugal  in  the  Seventeenth  Century. 

Catherine  Sforza,  Governor  of  Forli,  1499. 

Duchess  of  Urbino,  Princess  of  Romagna,  1502. 

As  Hindoo  principalities  are  very  frequently  gov- 
erned by  women  during  the  minority  of  the  heir,  and 
as  their  condition  is  never  so  good  under  any  other 
circumstances,  even  though  the  names  of  these 
Rulers  cannot  be  ascertained,  we  may  put  down  as 
the  miminum  of  the  number  worth  naming  at  least 
ten. 

Charlotte,  Queen  of  Cyprus  and  Jerusalem. 

Queen  Pomare. 

Ranovalona  I.,  Queen  of  Madagascar. 

Rasoherina.  » 

Ranovalona,  II. 

Queen  Kapiolani. 

Now,  if  in  this  hap-hazard  fashion  one  can  bring 
together  such  an  array  of  names,  out  of  which  no 
unrespectable  proportion  of  wise  and  able  rulers 
may  be  drawn,  what  could  not  be  done  by  a 
thoroughly  versed  Historian  if  interested  in  the 
matter?  Surely  enough  to  establish  the  fact  that 
women  have  made  as  good  rulers  as  men.  (!) 

Our  critic's  statement,  then,  is  doubly  misleading; 
first,  as  to  the  impression  that  too  few  women  have 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


271 


ruled  to  permit  one  to  base  anything  but  conjecture 
upon  the  character  of  their  government,  and  again, 
as  to  the  impression  that  those  who  have  ruled 
have  failed. 

This  kind  of  dissimulation  is  the  result  of  emo- 
tion, sentiment, — a  feeling  which  sweeps  all  before 
it  and  cares  nothing  for  the  flimsy  opposition  of 
facts.  Heart-skepticism  is,  in  fact,  the  only  thing 
of  the  kind  which  produces  an  effect  upon  the 
world.  No  one  cares  anything  about  a  purely  intel- 
lectual skepticism.  Archbishop  Whately  wrote  an 
Essay  which  upon  the  world's  accepted  principles 
of  skepticism  triumphantly  proved  that  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  never  existed,  and  people  cared  so  little 
for  it,  that  though  one  of  the  most  ingenious  feats 
ever  performed,  it  has  passed  not  only  out  of  record, 
but  out  of  memory.  John  Stuart  Mill  wrote  an 
Essay  which  proved  that  the  franchise  should  be 
given  to  women,  and  in  order  to  refute  it,  men  said 
that  he  was  an  infidel,  and  that,  therefore,  everything 
he  said  was  vitiated.  That  is,  they  virtually  said : 
"  We  are  perfectly  willing  to  agree  to  the  idea  that 
Napoleon  never  existed,  because  we  care  little  for 
Napoleon  and  much  for  the  principles  of  the  infi- 
dels. But  we  cannot  believe  Mill,  because  we  care 
much  for  our  own  rights  and  little  for  those  of  wo- 
men. When  the  infidels  prove  what  we  want  to 
have  proved,  we  will  believe  in  them  to  all  lengths. 
When  they  prove  what  we  do  not  want  to  have 
proved,  we  will  make  the  very  thing  in  which  we  trust 


272  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

in  the  one  case  the  stumbling-block  in  the  other." 
That  the  extraordinary  solicitude  about  Mill's 
atheism  was  entirely  due  to  the  hatred  of  woman 
suffrage  is  evident  when  we  examine  the  world's 
attitude  toward  other  eminent  infidels.  Gibbon 
dealt  the  most  cruel  blows  at  the  very  heart  of 
Christianity ;  yet  clergymen  edit  his  works  and  try 
to  account  for  his  assertions.  Shelley  avowed  the 
most  direct  enmity  to  the  character,  teaching  and 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  tried  to  propagate  doc- 
trines which  sap  the  foundations  of  domestic  hap- 
piness. The  world  quickly  divined  that  his  polem- 
ics were  utterly  powerless  and  said :  "  He  is  the 
greatest  poet  England  ever  had."  Paley,  the  au- 
thor of  a  system  of  Moral  Philosophy, — himself  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel, — put  forth  moral  principles 
which  Mill  scorned  to  countenance ;  and  for  genera- 
tions his  works  were  used  as  text-books  at  Cam- 
bridge and  Oxford  and  in  the  Christian  Colleges  of 
this  country.  It  is  not  necessary  to  multiply  in- 
stances. This  subject  of  the  rights  of  women  is  one 
which  cannot  be  discussed  dispassionately.  It  is  a 
question  of  class  interests  which  conflict  more  des- 
perately than,  any  that  can  be  named.  Everyone 
knows  that  there  is  no  real  meaning  in  discussions 
as  to  the  permissibility,  advisability,  desirability, 
etc.  of  women's  having  political  rights.  All  this 
dodging,  this  equivocation,  this  sophistry  is  employed 
to  cover  up  the  sense  of  shame.  The  astonish- 
ment that  is  expressed  over  the  fact  that  men, 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


273 


generally,  do  not  want  to  give  women  these  rights 
is  feigned.  For  in  our  secret  souls  we  all  know  that 
there  is  nothing  rarer  than  generosity.  Do  you  find 
that  men  who  are  ungenerous  toward  women  are,  as 
a  rule,  generous  toward  men  ?  Never ;  except  in 
cases  where  the  hatred  of  equal  rights  is  the  result 
of  special  inculcation,  when  it  becomes  a  part  of  a 
man's  religion  and  must  be  dealt  with  like  every 
other  form  of  fanaticism.  This  question  of  generosity 
strikes  at  the  very  heart  of  character.  It  is  fundamen- 
tal. Women  hate  the  recognition  of  this  fact  and  will 
blink  it  to  any  extent  that  can  be  named,  even  to 
that  of  professing  themselves  downright  unbelievers 
as  to  the  possibilities  for  their  sex  ;  and  this  is  one 
of  the  reasons  that  they  have  permitted  themselves 
to  be  bribed,  intimidated  and  silenced  in  expressing 
any  opinion  on  the  subject.  But  men  are  not 
troubled  by  any  too  much  feeling  for  men  ;  hence 
they  go  far  ahead  of  women  in  advocating  the  cause 
of  women. 

One  of  the  most  amusing  forms  which  this  want 
of  candor  ever  assumes  is  the  fear  expressed  by 
both  men  and  women  that  the  possession  of  politi- 
cal rights  will  unsex  women,  for  when  one  asks  these 
objectors  why  women  should  not  be  unsexed,  they 
fall  back  upon  the  assertion  that  the  Creator  insti- 
tuted sex  and  meant  it  to  continue  ;  as  if,  in  that 
case,  anything  they  should  do  or  leave  undone  could 
effect  it ! 

Many  who  talk  a  great  deal  on  this  subject  are 
18 


274  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

so  densely  ignorant  of  Historical  facts  that  one 
ought  not  to  wonder  at  their  gropings.  They  are 
not  aware  that  the  appearance  of  women  in  politics 
could  not  possibly  bring  about  a  greater  change 
than  the  appearance  of  women  in  Literature  and  the 
Drama.  There  was  neither  any  study  nor  any  ap- 
pearance of  women  in  the  Greek  Drama,  and  the 
fashion  of  making  them  the  embodiment  of  one 
idea  only  continued  until  the  time  of  Shakespeare, 
while  the  theatre  still  continued  to  be  attended 
only  by  women  of  notoriously  bad  reputation,  who, 
even  then,  were  masked.  The  reason  that  so  many 
of  Shakespeare's  women  are  disguised  as  pages  is 
that  young  men  always  acted  these  parts,  and  de- 
vout admirers  of  the  great  dramatist  believe  that  in 
the  delineation  of  these  complex  characters  he  fore- 
shadowed the  advent  of  women  in  public  life. 

There  are  thousands  of  excellent  reasons  for  the 
exclusion  of  women  from  public  life,  and  reasons, 
too,  which  are  even  on  the  side  of  generosity  : 
against  which  one  needs  to  be  specially  cautioned. 
Men  are  hurt,  they  say,  in  seeing  a  woman  fail,  and 
when  everything  is  against  her  a  woman  must  fail. 
This  sensitiveness  looks  so  much  like  sympathy  that 
one  is  charged  with  being  an  out  and  out  skeptic  in 
rejecting  it.  In  reality,  it  is  one  of  the  most  shame- 
ful counterfeits  ever  palmed  of?  on  society.  True 
sympathy  is  ready  to  say :  "  And  if  you  fail,  you 
fail."  Genuine  affection  says  :  *'  Do  not  carry  out 
my  wishes  :  they  are  subordinated  to  yours."  This 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


275 


sacrifice  of  "  self-born  aims  and  wishes  "  is,  indeed, 
the  supreme  test  of  affection ;  but  a  dictatorial, 
despotic  affection  is  no  affection  at  all,  but  selfish- 
ness of  the  deepest  dye. 

Granting  that  in  a  country  like  ours  there  are,  ap- 
parently, insuperable  obstacles  to  the  extension  of 
the  franchise  to  women  ;  allowing  that  no  substantial 
change  or  gain  would  ensue  to  the  country  and  the 
condition  of  politics ;  acquiescing  in  the  assurance 
men  give  that  the  duty  of  voting  is  a  burden  from 
which  they  shrink,  and  the  holding  of  an  office  under 
government  a  responsibility  under  which  they  groan  ; 
would  it  not  be  more  courageous,  more  manly  and 
more  truthful  to  acknowledge  that  egregious  blun- 
ders have  been  committed  in  the  constitution  of  our 
political  affairs,  entailing  obstructions  to  the  uni- 
versal welfare  in  which  the  disabilities  of  women 
constitute  but  a  single  element  ?  that  if  no  change 
for  the  better  is  to  be  brought  about  by  effort  it 
must  be  because  that  effort  is  neither  honest  nor 
direct  ?  and  that  for  the  unselfish  relinquishment  of 
privileges  long  enjoyed  and  long  uncontested  most 
men  have  not  yet  been  educated  or  prepared  ?  being 
in  the  condition  in  which  Scott  describes  Napoleon, 
like  a  child  with  its  toys,  that  of  which  there  is  any 
attempt  to  deprive  them  immediately  becoming  the 
most  valuable  of  their  possessions. 

A  question  of  far  greater  importance  than  any 
we  have  yet  considered  is  that  involved  in  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Church  toward  this  as  well  as  other 


276 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


reformatory  movements,  for  many  persons  are  abso- 
lutely sincere  in  believing  that  the  Church  must  be 
the  guide  here  as  in  all  questions  of  vital  moment . 
and  it  is  a  fact  which  none  can  gainsay  that  the 
Church  scarcely  countenances,  much  less  initiates, 
these  movements. 

Now  to  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  religion  we 
may  trace  all  trustworthy  ideas  of  democratic  gov- 
ernment, principles  and  modes  of  thought.  But  the 
Church  is  a  visible  body  and  as  such  pursues  a  defin- 
itive policy,  which  is  that  of  pure  and  unflinching 
conservatism.  So  that  it  often  happens  that  the 
external,  visible  organization  called  the  Church 
works  against  the  very  spirit  it  has  diffused  in 
temporal  affairs.  It  cannot  work  against  this  to  any 
injurious  extent,  because  as  an  institution  which  has 
its  place  in  the  world,  and  as  a  factor  in  political 
life,  it  was  meant  to  be  palliative  rather  than  reme- 
dial, protective  rather  than  aggressive,  and  if  it  is 
this  on  the  side  of  the  evil  features  of  reformatory 
movements  it  must  be  equally  so  on  the  side  of  the 
beneficent  features.  The  Christian  religion  cer- 
tainly did  not  inculcate  admiration  for  the  character 
of  Nero  :  yet  the  precept  "  Honor  the  king  "  was 
enjoined  while  Nero  was  reigning.  Political  gov- 
ernors and  ruleis  are  most  certainly  commanded  to 
adopt  the  principles  and  practice  the  precepts  of 
Christianity,  but  neither  in  the  Bible  nor  in  the 
workings  of  Divine  Providence  are  we  led  to  believe 
that  any  of  the  temporal  institutions  of  earth  have 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


277 


the  same  work  to  perform  which  the  Church  has. 
In  the  infinitely  higher  and  more  important  labor 
which  the  Church  has  to  accomplish  little  scope  is 
found  for  aggressive  action  in  temporal  affairs,  which 
in  being  temporal  are  not  therefore  of  no  impor- 
tance, for  in  the  application  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  secular  interests  of  life  lies  the  whole 
responsibility  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  these 
interests,  and  while  the  world  exists  this  class  must 
exist.  The  Church  is  not  necessarily  the  clergy, 
nor  are  the  clergy  invariably  the  church  :  although 
this  in  the  first  instance  and  as  the  representative 
fact  must  be  acquiesced  in  by  those  who  have 
agreed  with  me  thus  far.  But  the  devout  layman 
may  accomplish  a  work  for  the  Church  which  a 
clergyman  could  not  accomplish,  and  a  clergyman 
may  respond  to  a  more  imperative  demand  than 
that  of  his  profession  in  befriending  and  promoting 
some  immediate  cry  for  help.  Disloyalty  to  the 
Church  and  its  teachings  and  traditions  cannot 
possibly  be  charged  upon  the  sincere  lover  of  prog- 
ress. For  the  more  truly  sincere  he  is,  the  more 
will  he  rejoice  that  there  is  a  counteracting,  check- 
ing, restraining  force  somewhere.  Not  to  do  so  is 
to  be  either  half-hearted  or  a  fanatic.  This  consti- 
tutes the  difference  between  Mill  and  Shelley, 
Coleridge  and  Bentham,  Sterling  and  Carlyle.  The 
bigotry  of  narrow-mindedness  is  one  thing  to  be 
guarded  against :  the  bigotry  of  liberalism  is  not 
less  dangerous. 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


Christianity,  we  are  told,  is  the  most  intolerant 
religion  in  the  world.  Exactly  so.  How  can  the 
Truth  be  tolerant  of  error  ?  Are  we  to  understand, 
then,  that  the  nearer  we  approach  absolute  Truth 
the  more  intolerant  we  shall  become  ?  Have  the 
Romanists  and  the  Puritans  been  the  best  illustra- 
tions of  the  Gospel-spirit  ? 

Opening  the  New  Testament,  I  find  that  it  coin- 
cides exactly  with  the  Old  Testament  in  this,  that  it 
is  intolerant  toward  certain  dispositions  of  the  heart : 
and,  strange  to  say,  toward  nothing  else. 

The  Psychology  of  the  Bible  stands  every  test. 
It  tells  us  that  "  with  the  heart  man  believes  unto 
righteousness  "  ;  that  "  out  of  the  heart "  (not  the 
understanding,  as  the  world  supposes)  "  are  the 
issues  of  life  " ;  that  "  as  a  man  thinketh  in  his 
heart,  so  />he  "  ;  that  out  of  the  heart  all  crimes  pro- 
ceed, the  list  of  which  is  headed  by  evil  thoughts ; 
that  "  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaks " ;  and  that  the  "  fool  says  in  his  heart 
*  There  is  no  God  V  It  contrasts  a  "  double  heart " 
with  "  singleness  of  heart "  ;  a  "  heart  which  is  slow 
to  believe  "  with  "  an  understanding  heart " ;  a 
stony  heart  with  a  heart  of  flesh  :  a  "  deceived  and 
deceitful  heart"  with  "uprightness  and  integrity 
of  heart "  ;  a  "  heart  which  is  not  right  in  the  sight 
of  God  "  with  a  "  sound  heart."  It  shows  us  how 
man  reasons  in  his  heart,  purposes  in  his  heart,  lays 
things  up  in  his  heart,  lays  things  to  his  heart.  It 
teaches  that  man  can  "  make  his  heart  as  adamant," 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


279 


and  that  he  can  "  rend  his  heart."  It  goes  still 
farther.  It  speaks  of  "the  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  the  heart  "  ;  — that  it  may  be  "  only  evil 
continually  "  ;  and,  again,  that  the  holy  fear  of  God 
may  be  kept  there  forever.  It  speaks  of  man's 
imagining  evil  in  his  heart  against  his  neighbor ;  of 
his  walking,  that  is,  living,  in  the  imagination  of  his 
heart ;  it  tells  us  of  purity  of  heart,  of  "  the  hidden 
man  "  of  the  heart,  of  the  consecration  of  the  heart, 
of  the  fleshly  tables  of  the  heart,  of  doing  the  will  of 
God  from  the  heart. 

All  this  goes  to  show  that  man  is  a  spiritual  be- 
ing and  that  the  Bible  is  a  spiritual  Book.  Here  we 
get  down  to  the  "  very  central  self,  the  inner  citadel 
of  the  soul."  We  see  that  there  can  be  no  period  in 
the  world's  history,  no  people,  no  race,  no  position 
in  life,  no  occupation,  no  opinion  which  cannot  be 
judged  by  this  standard.  Your  period  in  the  world's 
history  may  have  been  dark,  stormy,  unsettled,  that 
does  not  absolve  you,  O  Pharaoh  !  nor  exalt  you,  O 
Jochebed  !  Belshazzar  and  Daniel  lived  in  the  same 
palace.  Pascal  and  Escobar  studied  the  same  Phi- 
losophy. Why  speak  of  lesser  antitheses  ?  The  cli- 
max of  all  that  is  awful  is  found  in  the  position  of 
Pilate,  when  in  the  presence  of  Christ,  Himself,  he 
demanded  :  "  What  is  Truth  "  ? 

How  immeasurable  then,  is  the  toleration  of 
Christianity !  How  marvelously  unlike  all  human 
conceptions  is  its  boundless  charity !  It  asks  but 
one  thing,  that  a  man  shall  be  true  of  heart,  and  it 


2go  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

asks  this  of  everyone  upon  the  same  terms  and  for 
the  same  reasons. 

By  the  light  of  the  New  Testament  we  see  that 
Gautama  was  very  much  more  of  a  Christian  than 
Torquemada ;  that  the  Roman  Centurion  was  a  be- 
liever, and  Caiaphas  the  High  Priest  was  not ;  that 
Hypatia  was  a  thousand  times  nearer  the  truth  than 
Cyril,  George  Fox  a  better  guide  than  Archbishop 
Laud. 

Now  in  what  does  this  sincerity  of  heart  differ 
from  that  sincere  belief  in  a  certain  Law  or  Sect 
and  the  light  of  Nature,  so  unequivocally  condemned 
by  the  framers  of  the  Prayer-Book  ?  Is  it  not  evi- 
dent that  one  may  be  sincere  in  heart  and  yet  not 
be  in  possession  of  objective  Truth  ?  Yes.  But  by 
a  perfectly  sincere  desire  to  know  at  any  cost  every 
fragment  of  Truth  that  can  come  within  his  reach, 
the  individual  is  pledged  to  go  on  until  he  is  pre- 
pared to  know  the  whole  Truth  in  a  higher  state  of 
being  ;  while  the  ardor  for  a  certain  Law  or  Sect  is 
a  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  objective  truth  as  it  stands 
at  any  given  time  and  place,  which  puts  an  end  to 
progress  and  emphasizes  error. 

This  method  of  determining  the  right  from  the 
wrong,  the  true  from  the  false,  the  sincere  person 
from  the  hypocrite  has  a  twofold  effect  upon  the 
judgment.  It  suspends  it ;  showing  it  that  there 
is  a  province  into  which  it  cannot  penetrate,  for  in 
the  last  instance  man  never  can  be  the  judge  of  his 
fellow-man.  And  it  excites  it  and  sets  it  to  work, 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART.  28l 

pointing  out  the  true  province  into  which  it  can 
penetrate,  for  in  judging  others  we  judge  ourselves. 

This  is  the  point  at  which  we  discover  the  moral 
character  of  belief.  You  do  not  reveal  your  char- 
acter in  saying  that  you  do  not  believe  in  the  Tro- 
jan War  as  an  Historical  event  or  in  the  theory  that 
the  planets  are  inhabited ;  but  the  moment  you 
touch  upon  any  phase  of  character  you  betray  your 
self,  your  individual  nature,  your  inmost  being. 
When  we  do  not  wish  to  get  down  to  the  essence  of 
things,  to  judge  every  question  in  the  spirit  rather 
than  the  letter,  it  is  because  we  have  some  personal 
aim  in  view  with  which  this  method  interferes.  I 
will  not  go  all  lengths  with  La  Rochefoucauld.  I 
am  not  willing  to  believe  that  "  the  intellect  is  always 
the  dupe  of  the  heart."  But  I  do  believe  that  the 
intellect  is  at  the  mercy  of  the  heart,  and  that  the 
desire  to  conceal  a  secret  love  of  evil  is  at  the  bot- 
tom of  many  arguments  addressed  ostensibly  to  the 
intellect  alone.  WThat  is  integrity  of  heart  but  the 
belief  in  Goodness,  Absolute  Goodness,  somewhere, 
somehow, — all  the  Goodness  of  which  you  can  con- 
ceive, and  all  the  Goodness  which  has  ever  presented 
itself  to  your  view  ?  How  can  those  who  are  in 
search  of  Goodness  be  opposed  to  each  other? 
Rather,  will  not  those  who  know  most  of  Goodness 
in  esse  be  the  first  to  detect  it  in  posse,  through  all 
forms  ? 

We  have  considered  that  form  of  unbelief  which 
pretends  to  originate  in  the  intellect  but  does,  really, 


282  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

originate  in  the  heart  and  betray  moral  turpitude. 
But  there  is  a  genuine  skepticism  of  the  heart  and 
a  skepticism  to  be  vindicated.  It  does  not  pretend 
to  originate  in  the  intellect ;  it  does  not  attempt  to 
justify  itself;  it  makes  no  boast  of  being  admirable. 
There  is  a  certain  Hindoo  sect  which  classifies 
mankind  as  the  bad-bad,  the  bad,  the  bad-good,  the 
good-bad,  the  good,  the  good-good ;  thus  amusingly, 
but  forcibly,  calling  attention  to  the  subtle  discrimi- 
nations devolving  on  the  judgment.  And  when  we 
reflect  that  everything  which  is  valuable  has  its 
counterfeit  and  that  we  are  exposed  to  the  loss  of 
everything  that  is  desirable  unless  we  distinguish 
between  the  real  thing  and  the  counterfeit,  we  can- 
not wonder  that  there  should  be  skepticism  in  the 
world. 

History  shows  the  direct  conflict,  the  open  antag- 
onism, between  form  and  spirit, — for  the  express 
purpose  of  vindicating  the  triumph  of  the  spirit  and 
testing  the  depth  of  spiritual  conviction.  It  shows 
us  how  form  is  utterly  false  to  spirit,  because  spirit 
is  not  dependent  upon  form.  The  whole  of  life  is 
arranged  upon  this  principle.  The  external,  visible 
bonds  which  bind  human  beings  to  each  other  are 
types,  representative  of  spiritual  relationships. 
Take  family  life,  the  domestic  circle,  which  is  cried  up 
to  the  very  skies  as  the  summum  bonum  of  earthly 
existence.  Those  who  have  looked  beneath  the 
surface  of  things  know  that  there  is  no  severer  test 
of  character  than  that  imposed  by  the  domestic  life. 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART.  283 

There,  where  forms  in  general  are  dispensed  with : 
where  each  knows  the  other  as  well  as  it  is  possible 
for  one  human  being  to  know  another ;  where 
worldly  motives  for  self-restraint  and  courtesy  are 
removed  and  criticisms  with  which  no  one  would 
dare  to  attack  a  perfect  stranger  can  be  made  with 
impunity,  because  in  virtue  of  the  outward  relation- 
ship alone  they  must  be  forgiven  and  forgotten  un- 
reservedly, there  indeed  a  means  of  discipline  is 
offered  which  no  other  sphere  of  life  can  ever  afford. 
A  more  extraordinary  spectacle  than  perfect  unan- 
imity and  harmony  in  family  life  cannot  be  found 
on  earth.  We  are  told  that  under  a  spiritual  dis- 
pensation a  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own 
household,  and  that  the  Christian  religion  will  be 
the  occasion  for  setting  a  daughter-in-law  against 
her  mother-in-law,  a  father  against  his  son  and  a 
daughter  against  her  mother ;  because  the  more  out- 
wardly probable  it  is  that  we  shall  be  understood  in 
our  spiritual  aspirations,  the  less  inwardly  possible 
it  is.  The  real  relationship  of  soul  with  soul,  na- 
ture with  nature,  cannot  be  brought  about  upon  any 
formal  principle.  The  father  is  not  congenial  to  his 
son  in  virtue  of  being  his  father.  The  motherly 
heart  is  not  confined  to  the  woman  who  is  a  mother. 
Why  is  it  written,  "  Rejoice,  thou  barren  that  bear- 
est  not,  break  forth  and  cry,  thou  that  travailest 
not ;  for  the  desolate  hath  many  more  children  than 
she  which  hath  an  husband,"  except  to  show  us  the 
vast,  the  eternal  superiority  of  the  invisible  over  the 


284  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

visible  ?  The  characteristics  of  sex,  like  those  of  age 
and  station,  are  generalizations  of  spiritual  qualities 
which  have  an  existence  of  their  own  and  are  wholly 
independent  of  the  particular  sex,  age  or  station  in 
which  they  may  originate.  You  may  and  you  ought 
to  carry  the  joyousness  and  enthusiasm  of  childhood 
through  a  long  life.  But  you  are  not  a  good  rea- 
soner,  not  possessed  of  daring  physical  courage,  not 
fired  with  a  desire  for  the  public  welfare  because 
you  are  a  man.  Every  woman  is  not  womanly ; 
that  grace  which  soothes,  sweetens  and  adorns  life 
is  so  precious  because  it  is  so  rare.  But  in  the 
most  admirable  and  the  most  charming  people,  per- 
sonality always  eclipses  the  distinctions  of  sex,  age, 
and  station. 

There  are  those  who  have  a  very  hard  time  trying 
to  discover  just  exactly  what  worldliness  is.  They 
have  been  taught  to  think  that  it  consists  in  a  cer- 
tain manner  of  living,  a  style  of  dress,  the  love  of 
the  Drama  and  a  fondness  for  social  intercourse, 
and  that  by  not  countenancing  any  of  these  they  may 
attain  unworldliness.  Robertson  is  the  only  writer 
I  have  ever  known  who  has  been  able  to  tear  away 
these  veils.  "  High  Art,"  he  tells  us,  "  is  essentially 
unworldliness,  and  the  highest  artists  have  been  un- 
worldly in  aim  and  unworldly  in  life."  Worldliness 
is  entanglement  in  the  temporal  and  the  visible.  It 
matters  not  whether  you  are  rich  or  poor ;  whether 
you  dress  magnificently  or  soberly;  whether  you 
have  rank  and  title  or  not ;  whether  you  are  in  the 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


285 


Church  or  out  of  it,  as  far  as  the  love  of  the  tempo- 
ral and  the  visible  is  concerned.  And  that  cannot 
be  driven  from  the  heart  by  anything  but  the  love  of 
the  eternal  and  the  invisible. 

In  the  detection  of  worldliness  the  world  is  sel- 
dom deceived,  though  it  may  be  unable  to  explain 
the  nature  of  it.  For  instance,  the  world  generally 
considers  Theater-going  as  one  of  the  cardinal  sins, 
and  wonders  how  those  who  call  themselves  Chris- 
tians can  indulge  in  it.  And  as  it  knows  that  the 
many  who  enjoy  the  Theater  are  rather  benefited 
than  harmed  by  it,  it  is  necessary  to  pierce  beneath 
the  superficial  opinion  that  the  harm  consists  in  the 
Drama,  in  order  to  understand  the  real  opinion  that 
is  kept  in  the  background.  However  narrow,  un- 
cultured and  unsocial  they  may  be  who  both  con- 
demn the  Theater  and  stay  away  from  it,  the  world 
at  least  perceives  that  they  are  honest  and  admires 
their  sincerity.  But  it  knows  that  of  those  who  at- 
tend it  the  vast  majority  do,  really,  as  a  fact,  look 
down  from  a  superior  height  on  those  who  interpret 
the  Drama ;  ostracising  actors  and  actresses  from  so- 
ciety and  hooting  at  the  very  idea  of  permitting  their 
own  sons  and  daughters  to  study  for  the  stage.  Here 
is  where  the  real  criminality  lies, — in  the  shameless 
unwillingness  to  share  in  the  odium  connected  with 
the  profession  from  which  these  well-bred  people 
pretend  to  derive  enjoyment  and  benefit,  for  it  is 
evident  that  the  whole  character  of  the  stage  could 
be  changed  in  a  single  generation  if  there  were  any 


286  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

genuine  appreciation  of  it.  There  is  a  bare-faced 
falsehood  in  pretending  to  admire  the  Play  and  re- 
fusing to  honor  the  person  who  makes  that  Play  a 
life-long  study.  And  so  the  world  rightly  calls  this 
worldliness,  for  it  is  nothing  but  a  counterfeited 
dilettanteism  and  a  vulgar  pretence  of  appreciation. 
I  do  not  like  the  Drama,  just  as  I  do  not  care 
for  Fiction,  because  I  passionately  love  Abstract 
Thought  and  the  Arts  that  emanate  from  it,  but  I 
cordially  hate  that  false  sentiment  which  permits  a 
certain  class  of  Theater-goers  to  drag  the  Drama 
down  to  their  own  level. 

The  protest  of  real  skepticism  of  the  heart  is  to 
be  vindicated  because  it  is  not  made  against  the 
world,  but  against  itself.  Through  a  conception  of, 
and  a  desire  for,  firmer  belief  than  that  around 
them  men  declare  themselves  doubters.  They  en- 
deavor in  this  way  to  provoke  the  Truth  to  proclaim 
itself,  and  to  doubt  their  sincerity  is  a  reflection 
upon  our  own.  No  one  can  truly  doubt  who  does 
not  truly  believe,  for  the  consciousness  of  doubt  is"' 
belief.  Just  as  no  one  can  doubt  who  does  not 
suffer  :  for  suspicion  cannot  originate  in  content- 
ment. Whole  books,  and  series  and  classes  of 
books,  are  written  not  by  any  means  to  convince 
the  reader ;  the  writer  writes  them  to  convince  him- 
self. When  the  stock  sentiments,  beliefs,  etc.,  of 
the  age  are  forced  upon  a  nature  that  is  born  free, 
there  is  a  revolt,  and  the  revolt  indicates  that  the 
heart  is  sound.  The  perfectly  sincere  nature  can- 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART.  287 

not  have  its  beliefs  made  for  it.  The  intense 
nature  that  perceives  the  shocking  disparity  between 
the  ideal  and  the  real  has  its  mission  marked  out 
for  it  as  by  a  Voice  from  Heaven.  Feeling  that  is 
deeper  than  the  definitions  of  feeling  has  no  other 
refuge  than  to  take  upon  itself  the  appearance  of 
coldness.  Some  unknown  poet  divines  the  secret 
of  this  paradox,  in  describing  the  soul, 

"  That  what  it  wishes,  wishes  ardently, 
That  would  believe  it  hated,  had  it  power 
To  love  with  moderation." 

The  gifted  mind  can  convince  the  unthinking 
world  that  there  is  a  deeper  stratum  of  belief  than 
that  which  it  has  yet  sounded  only  by  daring  to  ques- 
tion the  reality  of  any  belief.  This  is  the  magnifi- 
cent explanation  which  Victor  Hugo  has  found  of 
Machiavelli's  wonderful  work.  The  whole  intellect- 
ual world  has  puzzled  and  studied  and  debated  over 
this  strange  exception  to  all  the  great  efforts  of 
genius  :  for  if  "  The  Prince  "  was  written  in  the  in- 
terests of  wickedness  and  vice,  it  is  the  only  thing 
of  the  kind  on  record.  At  last  the  Master  came, 
who  could  rightly  read  the  riddle.  He  says  :  "  To 
heap  the  measure,  to  overflow  the  cup,  to  exagger- 
ate the  horror  of  the  prince's  deed,  to  make  the 
burden  more  crushing  in  order  to  make  the  revolt 
more  certain,  to  cause  idolatry  to  grow  into  execra- 
tion, to  push  the  masses  to  extremities — such  is 
Machiavelli's  policy.  His  Yes  signifies  No." 


288  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

It  is  incredible  that  one  attacked  with  genuine 
skepticism  of  the  heart  should  not  deplore  it.  For 
though  the  world  may  and  does  receive  an  indirect 
benefit  from  this  source,  all  feel  that  it  can  be 
permanently  and  positively  aided  only  by  those 
who  are  "  full  of  faith."  To  such  the  importance 
of  forms  cannot  be  overestimated ;  for,  as  Miss 
Sewell  says  :  "  Form  without  spirit  is  for  the  time 
dead ;  yet  while  it  remains  with  us,  it  is  the  ever- 
present  witness  to  the  existence  of  the  spirit  which 
once  inhabited  and  may  still  return  to  it.  But  spirit 
without  form  may  die,  and  none  be  aware  of  its  de- 
parture." It  will  not  do  to  assure  each  individual 
that  he  is  to  trust  to  his  own  convictions,  for  it  is 
evident  that  the  many  have  no  strong  convictions. 
The  weak-willed  (and  they  are  legion)  have  a  de- 
cided antipathy  for  them.  Beliefs  must  be  moulded 
into  creeds,  just  as  thought  must  pass  into  language 
if  it  is  to  live.  In  every  age  the  people  are  "  led 
like  sheep  by  the  hand  of  a  Moses  or  an  Aaron." 

How,  then,  can  any  one  deny  that  a  certain  men- 
tal equipment  is  the  only  thing  which  authorizes 
one  to  become  an  independet  seeker  after  Truth  ? 
The  coolness,  the  absolute  effrontery  with  which 
those  who  have  never  thought  at  all  sit  in  judg- 
ment upon  those  who  have  consecrated  their  lives 
to  thought  is  despicable.  While  upon  general  prin- 
ciples all  have  truth  to  discover,  it  does  not  follow, 
even  under  the  law  of  sincerity  of  heart,  that  any 
will  be  able  to  perceive  specific  Truth  beyond  the 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART. 


289 


range  of  the  intellectual  vision.  Are  there  to  be 
no  pioneers  of  thought  because  the  great  mass  of 
mankind  is  content  to  plod  on  in  the  old  ruts  ? 
Ah  !  men  say,  but  what  of  the  old  saying,  Vox  populi, 
vox  Dei  ?  How  are  you  going  to  get  around  that  ? 
Well,  in  the  face  of  that,  Arthur  Collier,  a  Metaphy- 
sician of  some  note,  took  for  the  watchword  of  his 
Philosophy  ;  "  Vulgi  assensus  et  approbatio  circa 
materiam  difficilem  est  certum  argumentum  falsitatis 
istius  opinionis  cui  assentitur."  The  voice  of  the 
people  is  the  voice  of  God  only  in  generalizations  of 
a  certain  order.  The  people  may  decide  upon  truth 
when  it  is  presented  to  them,  but  who  is  to  present 
it  to  them?  Sallust  makes  Caesar  say:  "Omnes 
homines  qui  de  rebus  dubiis  consultant  ab  odio,  ami- 
citia,  ira  et  misericordia  vacuos  esse  decet,}>  and 
this  dictum  at  once  and  forever  disqualifies  the 
people  for  this  post  of  honor. 

Natural  indolence  of  body  and  mind,  love  of  sen- 
sual ease  and  comfort,  time-serving,  toadyism,  the 
fear  of  persecution  and  contempt,  all  render  an  hon- 
est, independent  search  after  Truth  one  of  the  most 
improbable  things  in  the  world.  And  these  evils 
also  account  for  the  suspicious  temper  of  those  who 
insist  upon  imputing  base  motives  to  those  who  do 
undertake  to  be  Truth-seekers.  "  What !  "  some 
one  exclaims,  "  have  I  not  a  right  to  say  that  I  dis- 
agree with  such  and  such  a  person,  am  I  not  en- 
titled to  my  opinion  ? "  No,  I  say  most  emphat- 
ically, you  are  not  entitled  to  suspicions :  no  one 
'9 


290 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


can  be  entitled  to  put  the  worst  possible  interpreta- 
tion upon  the  opinions  of  others. 

Galileo  does  not  stand  alone  in  being  tortured 
for  maintaining  that  "  the  world  moves."  But  the 
world  has  so  often  discovered  that  real  progress  is 
not  necessarily  in  the  line  of  material  civilization, 
that  it  can  be  forgiven  now  for  a  measure  of  its  dis- 
trust. It  sees  that  refined  civilization  lessens  the 
number  of  independent  thinkers  on  the  side  of  pos- 
itive, constructive  theories,  and  tends  to  increase 
those  of  negative  and  destructive  bias,  and  hence  it 
falls  back  upon  the  natural  instincts,  and  believes 
that  in  dependence  upon  them  it  may  recover  the 
spontaneity,  the  liberty,  the  intensity  for  which  it 
longs.  It  encourages  the  novelist  to  treat  of  the 
criminal  classes  of  society  and  the  criminal  passions 
in  which  they  indulge  because  it  believes  that  they 
are  natural,  spontaneous,  unaffected,  while  every- 
thing in  the  better  classes  is  artificial.  If  this  is 
the  distinction  to  be  made  between  the  natural  and 
the  artificial  feelings  and  opinions,  it  must  over- 
throw all  theories  of  education  ;  for  why  discipline 
any  part  of  our  nature  if  not  that  which  stands  most 
in  need  of  discipline  ?  There  is  no  real  room  for 
speculation  here,  for  we  have  only  to  appeal  to 
facts  to  see  that  "every  respectable  attribute  of 
humanity  is  the  result  of  a  victory  over  instinct." 

It  is  not  by  familiarity  with  a  lower  stratum  of 
society,  nor  by  falling  back  upon  the  sentiments  of 
a  past  age  that  we  can  know  what  it  is  to  be  gen- 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART.  29! 

trine  and  natural.  Is  it  not  evident  that  either  of 
these  methods  is  the  very  quintessence  of  the  arti- 
ficial ? 

It  is  not  enough  to  be  in  possession  of  inde- 
pendent opinions.  One  must  have  the  mental 
strength  to  distinguish  between  his  own  real  feel- 
ings and  the  feelings  the  world  expects  him  to  have 
and  to  express.  In  this  way  the  meaning  of  even 
deeply  rooted  prejudices  may  be  ascertained  and 
the  prejudices  themselves  utilized  to  advantage. 

Each  generation  is  confronted  by  a  set  of  opin- 
ions, sentiments  and  beliefs  already  formed,  but 
each  generation  has  it  in  its  power  to  modify,  recon- 
struct, revivify  every  truth  presented  to  it,  and  this 
is  the  real  task  set  before  it.  There  will  always  be 
a  large  class  to  take  everything  just  as  it  comes, 
well  satisfied  with  its  own  condition  and  without  the 
slightest  desire  to  reform  any  abuse  under  which 
others  suffer.  And  there  will  always  be  a  class  to 
destroy,  to  deny,  to  negative  the  errors  in  the  opin- 
ions and  beliefs  already  formed.  What  the  world 
needs  and  clamors  for  is  a  class  which  is  willing  to 
be  misunderstood,  to  be  suspected  in  its  purest 
motives,  questioned  as  to  its  loftiest  aims,  opposed, 
hindered,  laughed  at,  slandered,  for  only  then  can 
it  be  sure  that  it  is  being  steered  by  those  who  are 
true  to  convictions  which  are  trustworthy. 

Let  those  who  will,  take  the  second  rank  in  com- 
bating the  errors  which  cling  to  truths  too  rigor- 
ously defined  ;  their  own  age  will  have  its  laurels 


292  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

ready  for  them.  The  highest  rank  can  only  be 
attained  by  the  few  who  know  how  to  take  the  truth 
in  the  beliefs  already  formed  and  convert  it  into  the 
substance  of  the  truth  that  is  to  be ;  and  they 
cannot  be  crowned  in  their  own  day  and  genera- 
tion. 

The  collective  opinion  of  the  unthinking  masses 
may  be  (and  often  is)  on  the  side  of  unbelief. 
The  consensus  of  thought  among  the  greatest 
minds  of  every  age  must  ever  be  on  the  side  of 
belief.  Men  can  deny  the  truth  that  is  put  before 
them,  but  they  can  only  truly  affirm  the  truth  that 
they  put  before  others.  There  is  conscious  weak- 
ness in  all  denial — whether  it  be  sincere  or  insin- 
cere— for  it  is  concerned  about  that  which  must 
cease  to  be.  And  there  is  conscious  strength  in  all 
belief,  whether  it  be  perfect  or  imperfect,  for  it  is 
concerned  about  that  which  is  to  last. 

Each  succeeding  age  seems  to  render  individual 
belief  more  impotent  only  because  it  makes  a 
greater  demand  upon  that  belief,  and  the  many  are 
"weighed  in  the  balances  and  found  wanting." 
Refined  civilization  lessens  the  number  of  inde- 
pendent thinkers  only  because  it  asks  more  than 
men  are  prepared  to  give.  The  many  already  see 
something  noble  in  the  brave  protest  of  the  individ- 
ual against  the  error  universally  accepted.  They 
have  not  yet  perceived  the  far  higher  nobility  of 
those  who  are  determined  to  believe  in  the  truth 
ascertained,  "  though  it  slay  "  them.  These  are 


SKEPTICISM  OF  THE  HEART.  293 

they  who  "stand  in  the  breaches,"  to  "make  a 
hedge  for  Israel  in  the  day  of  battle."  And  to 
such  some  kindred  spirit,  who  has  gained  the  vic- 
tory, cries  : 

"  Dare  to  be  strong,  the  world  is  very  weak, 
And  longs  for  burning  words  which  strong  souls  speak, 

Thirsts  for  the  cup  which  ye  have  strength  to  grasp, 
Toils  on  the  road  which  ye  are  swift  to  run, 
Does  naught  itself,  but  worships  what  is  done, 

Spare  it  one  hand  :  thine  other  angels  clasp." 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART. 

THE  Decline  of  Art !  How  familiar  the  words 
sound  to  the  Art-student  or  the  European  tourist ! 
How  glibly  the  phrase  falls  from  the  lip  or  pen  of 
the  Art-critic !  How  unconsciously  the  current 
coin  has  been  passed  from  hand  to  hand  ! — while 
all  the  time  its  image  and  superscription  are  so 
defaced  (if  not  obliterated)  as  to  be  positively 
undecipherable. 

I  will  venture  to  trace  the  experience  of  the 
youthful  Art-student,  as  he  starts  out,  fresh  from 
the  schools,  to  the  examination  of  a  fine  collection 
of  paintings — either  of  the  originals  in  the  Galleries 
of  Europe,  or  of  the  best  oil  copies  and  engravings 
at  home.  He  chances  upon  a  picture  which 
attracts  him  from  its  very  oddity ;  the  forms — 
whether  of  angels  or  men — are  meagre,  stiff,  angu- 
lar, expressionless :  the  colors  are  pale,  faded  or 
subdued  :  as  for  the  action  portrayed,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  tell  what  any  of  the  persons  represented  are 
about  to  do,  but  it  seems  highly  improbable  that 
they  ever  have  done  anything  or  ever  will  seriously 
attempt  anything.  Rushing  in  a  bewildered  frame 
of  mind  to  his  beloved  Guide-book  or  Critic  to 
294 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART. 


295 


know  what  "  the  authorities  "  have  said,  he  finds, 
to  his  unbounded  surprise,  that  the  said  picture 
belongs  to  "  the  Purest  Age  of  Art " — that  it  is  a 
masterpiece,  a  work  of  genius  :  that  it  is,  in  fact,  to 
an  admiration  of  this  that  all  his  Art-education  has 
been  directed.  Alas !  how  desperate  are  his 
efforts  as  he  struggles  to  accommodate  himself  to 
the  fact.  But  what  is  this  radiant  work  that  now 
meets  his  eye  ?  Oh  !  what  god-like,  angelic,  divine 
forms,  what  superabundant  energy,  what  life,  what 
magnetism  are  in  this  piece !  Colors  softer  than 
the  rainbow,  joy,  love,  even  ecstasy  seem  to  radiate 
from  every  point.  "  Hush  !  hush  !  "  says  his  guide- 
book, "  Aren't  you  ashamed  to  admire  that  ? 
Don't  set  yourself  down  as  an  ignoramus,  that 
belongs  to  the  Decline  of  Art.  Be  quiet :  you  will 
know  better  by-and-by." 

As  the  Galleries  of  all  the  principal  European 
cities — London,  Paris,  Florence,  Rome,  Milan, 
Naples,  Munich,  Dresden,  Antwerp  and  the  Hague 
— just  the  cities  most  likely  to  be  visited  by  the 
tourist  and  the  collections  from  which  copies  and 
engravings  are  most  frequently  made — contain  a 
far  greater  number  of  works  belonging  to  the 
decline  of  Art  than  to  its  purest  age,  the  Art-student 
has  a  much  better  opportunity  to  become  familiar 
with  the  former  than  the  latter,  which  he  must  seek 
in  such  out-of-the-way  places  as  Bologna,  Ravenna, 
Perugia,  Pisa,  Palermo  Assisi,  Bruges,  etc.,  and  in 


296  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

books  of  engravings  placed  by  their  erudition  and 
costliness  beyond  his  reach. 

Despite  the  evidence  of  his  senses,  the  faithful 
disciple,  following  the  lead  of  a  revered  teacher, 
fully  acquiesces  in  the  established  fact  that 
Orcagna,  Ghirlandajo,  Angelico,  Perugino,  Sig- 
norelli,  Albrecht  Durer,  Memling  and  Van  Eyck 
are  the  painters,  and  Art  died  with  them  :  that 
Domenichino,  the  Caracci,  Guercino,  Guido  Reni, 
Rubens,  the  Carravaggi  and  Carlo  Dolce  are  feeble, 
false,  base  imitators  of  the  Masters,  poor  apologies 
as  Artists,  and  their  time  one  to  be  wept  over  by 
all  who  are  in  the  real  secret  of  Art. 

Now  the  critics — those  of  high  and  those  of  dis- 
puted authority  alike — (I  believe  I  have  read  many, 
if  not  all,  of  the  best  known)  either  take  too  little 
upon  themselves  or  expect  too  much  of  us,  for 
they  nowhere  explain  just  exactly  what  we  are  to 
understand  by  these  ominous  words  :  the  Decline 
of  Art.  Mrs.  Jameson,  in  her  enthusiasm  for  medi- 
aevalism,  does  not  hesitate  to  use  the  term  of  some 
of  Raphael's  works  :  Lady  Eastlake  pours  out  a 
perfect  vial  of  wrath  and  denunciation  whenever 
Michael  Angelo  is  so  much  as  alluded  to  in  this 
connection  :  Taine  is  withering  when  he  is  forced 
to  speak  of  Guido.  Ruskin  is  positively  savage 
when  he  touches  upon  the  Laocoon.  And  yet, 
turn  the  critics  around  :  Mrs.  Jameson  can  become 
eloquent  in  behalf  of  Guido;  Ruskin  devoutly  wor- 
ships Michael  Angelo :  Lessing  based  his  interpre- 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART. 


tation  of  all  Art  upon  admiration  of  the  Laocoon 
(which,  by  the  way,  he  knew  only  through  engrav- 
ings) and  thereby  produced  one  of  the  most  sugges- 
tive works  ever  written,  which,  according  to  Goethe 
"  will  ever  remain  the  finest  monument  of  a  compact 
and  cultivated  intellect."  Truly,  indeed,  do 

"  Liberal  applications  lie 
In  Art  as  Nature,  dearest  friends." 

Is  then  the  study  of  Art  nothing  more  than  the 
study  of  theories  ?  Most  emphatically  would  I  pro- 
test against  any  such  supposition. 

While  a  world  of  delight  is  revealed  in  the  dis- 
covery that  no  criticism  of  Art  can  be  other  than  a 
subjective  one,  and  hence  that  every  fine  mind 
making  a  study  of  the  subject  will  throw  new  light 
upon  it,  still,  it  is  impossible  to  ignore  the  fact  that 
Art  exists  as  an  independent  reality,  a  product  of 
nationality,  of  a  specific  time,  of  a  peculiar  environ- 
ment, in  a  word,  of  History.  In  order  to  under- 
stand anything  of  the  significance  of  a  rise,  prog- 
ress, maturity,  decline  and  fall  of  Art,  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  that  we  view  it  as  a  matter  of  His- 
tory. But  the  objectivity  of  Art  is  something  more 
than  this.  As  the  subjective  treatment  only  makes 
Art  a  branch  of  Psychology,  so  if  we  stopped  here 
the  objective  interest  would  cease  with  the  Histori- 
cal ;  whereas  nothing  is  more  evident  than  the 
rigid  distinction  that  is  to  be  made  between  the 
Art  which  is  interesting  from  an  Historical  point 


298 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


of  view  and  the  Art  which  is  interesting  from  an 
Artistic  point  of  view. 

Confining  ourselves  to  the  simplest  principles  of 
investigation,  and  selecting  at  random  such  diverse 
Art-developments  as  the  Sculpture  of  Greece,  the 
Painting  of  Italy,  the  Music  of  Germany  and  the 
Literature  of  England,  we  shall  find  that  there  is 
one  thing  which,  as  Art,  they  all  must  have  in  com- 
mon. The  matter  itself  through  which  the  Beauti- 
ful is  expressed  in  Art,  must  be  considered  from  a 
material  stand-point.  Now  as  soon  as  any  one  form 
of  matter  becomes  recognized  as  a  proper  mode  for 
the  representation  of  the  Beautiful,  be  it  the  marble 
block,  the  plane  surface,  the  key-board  or  the  lan- 
guage of  a  people,  the  artist  recognizes  that  this 
form  imposes  upon  itself  a  certain  inevitable  devel- 
opment. And  the  artist  is  the  only  one  who  recog- 
nizes this.  No  one  else  can.  Others  may  be  able 
to  speak  or  write  or  think  eloquently  upon  the  sub- 
ject. They  may  bring  all  their  individuality,  all  the 
charms  of  a  captivating  personality  to  bear  upon  it, 
but  they  cannot  produce  a  work  of  Art  unless  they 
recognize  the  fact  that  that  work  must  sustain  a 
fixed  relation  to  the  germ  which  was  contained  in 
the  first  work  attempted  in  this  form. 

The  difficulty  encountered  here  is,  that  people 
will  imagine  that  the  artist  must  be  conscious  of 
making  this  recognition.  This  does  not  follow  at 
all.  As  fine  a  work  of  Art  may  be  produced  with- 
out such  consciousness  as  with  it.  The  perfect 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  299 

ease  with  which  genius  always  does  its  work  is  the 
most  astonishing  thing  in  the  world  to  the  rest  of 
mankind.  Doubtless  it  was  meant  to  be. 

Set  aside  this  archetypal  germ,  this  form-impetus, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  any  one  phase  of  Art 
could  be  superior  to  any  other.  All  Art  would  be 
at  the  mercy  of  the  individual  Artist,  whereas, 
rather  than  concede  this  we  would  affirm,  in  view  of 
the  Art  that  has  been  produced,  that  all  artists  are 
at  the  mercy  of  their  Art. 

Never  is  the  force  of  this  objective  dictum  more 
evident  than  when  the  Arts  seek  to  intrench  upon 
each  other,  or  in  other  words,  miss  the  meaning  of 
their  own  form-impetus.  Instead  of  gaining,  which 
is  the  end  proposed,  they  lose  immeasurably  in 
power  and  impressiveness.  In  Ghiberti's  cele- 
brated bronze  doors  we  have  one  of  the  most  noted 
instances  of  this ;  but  indeed  all  relief  Sculpture  is 
crude,  immature  painting.  The  representation  of 
statuary  in  painting  is  simply  unendurable,  even 
when  the  figure  is  transformed  from  the  marble  to 
the  flesh  tint,  of  which  I  can  recall  no  more  flagrant 
example  than  Rubens'  figure  of  the  Apollo  Belve- 
dere in  one  of  the  gorgeous  Marie  de  Medici  pict- 
ures in  the  Louvre.  The  grandest  compositions  in 
music  are  those  which  have  no  name,  no  title,  being 
known  simply  as  "  works."  The  more  impossible 
it  is  to  give  expression  to  the  effects  produced  by  a 
certain  musical  work,  the  higher  rank  does  that 
work  take  as  Art.  The  Wagnerian  attempt  to 


300 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


make  music  illustrative  of  life,  drama,  or  idyl  is  an 
instance  of  splendid  daring,  but  will  in  time  serve 
only  as  an  index  of  swift  decadence  from  the  great 
tone-masters.  The  mention  of  an  instance  coming 
nearer  home  to  many  may  not  be  out  of  place  :  the 
pictorial  illustration  of  an  artistic  work  of  Fiction. 
Who  has  not  had  his  sensibilities  rudely  shocked 
by  the  visible  representation  of  some  scene  in  which 
his  imagination  was  reveling  ;  bringing  him  down 
from  the  empyrean  of  fancy  and  emotion  to  this 
work-a-day  world  with  a  most  inglorious  thud  ! 
When  Corinne  and  Romola  thrust  themselves  upon 
us  in  prosaic  costumes  that  are  out  of  date,  the 
wonderful  impression  which  can  be  produced  by 
nothing  but  impassioned  language  is  more  than  half 
dissipated. 

Rev.  Edward  L.  Cutts,  whose  researches  have  so 
greatly  enriched  Art-criticism,  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  all  the  great  works  of  the  world  have  been 
produced  by  what  he  calls  "adherence  to  a  tradi- 
tional type."  Certainly  we  all  know  that  Dante 
took  Virgil  for  his  model,  Virgil  took  Homer,  and 
Homer  took  the  traditional  ballads  of  old  Hellas. 
Shakespeare  took  the  Italian  romances,  the  tales  in 
Holinshed  and  the  stock  pieces  of  the  Elizabethan 
theatre  and  only  clothed  them  in  a  faultless  diction. 
Chaucer,  Milton  and  Tennyson  achieved  their  great- 
est successes  in  perfecting  the  form  of  ideas  which 
had  long  been  given  to  the  world.  It  is  in  vain  that 
Sismondi  breaks  forth  into  an  eloquent  tirade 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  ^OI 

against  the  servile  acts  of  creative  genius.  For  in 
the  very  act  of  deploring  that  it  should  be  so,  he, 
himself,  finds  an  explanation  of  this  contradiction. 
Contrary  to  the  popular  impression  that  the  great- 
ness of  character  is  in  proportion  to  its  capacity  for 
self-assertion,  he  finds  that  in  politics,  in  religion, 
and  in  poetry,  in  proportion  to  the  intensity  and  im- 
petuosity of  character,  just  so  will  the  nation  or  the 
individual  endeavor  to  subjugate  itself.  But  this 
self-subjugation  to  the  perception  of  the  ideal  is  not, 
as  he  supposes,  imitation :  it  is  divination  :  it  is 
genius,  or  the  power  to  subordinate  the  trivial  to  the 
essential,  to  concentrate  in  order  to  intensify. 

This  was  the  great  value  of  Lessing's  work.  He 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  genius  of  the 
artist  would  ever  be  in  proportion  to  his  ability  to 
perceive  the  limitations  prescribed  by  the  form  of 
his  Art.  It  seemed  impossible  that  anyone  could 
improve  upon,  much  less  gainsay  and  overshadow 
the  magnificent  work  which  Winckelmann  had 
accomplished  for  Art.  But  his  exposition  made 
Art  wholly  subjective.  It  was  only  one  half  of  the 
perfect  whole.  The  half  is  only  true  when  it  is  rep- 
resented as  the  half  :  but  it  is  doubly  false  when  it 
is  put  for  the  whole.  I  firmly  believe  in  all  the 
lofty  idealism  which  Winckelmann  discovered  in 
Greek  Art.  I  do  not  believe  it  is  possible  to  go  too 
far  in  valuing  the  thought,  the  feeling,  the  religious 
faith  and  belief,  the  study  and  the  ambition  that 
enter  into  the  composition  of  a  great  work  of  Art. 


302 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


All  this  exists  parallel  to  and  as  a  correlative  of  the 
objectivity  we  have  spoken  of. 

Without  this  form-impetus  how  shall  we  account 
for  a  fact  by  which  the  student  is  always  profoundly 
impressed — the  rapidity  with  which  pure  Art  springs 
suddenly  into  being  ?  The  interval  between  the 
Archaic  period  and  the  Purest  Age  is  always  so 
short  that  it  is  amazingly  disproportionate  to  all  the 
other  periods.  Bach  touches  the  secret  spring  of 
the  clavichord  and  the  next  thing  we  know  all  Ger- 
many, all  Europe,  all  the  world  rings  with  harmo- 
nies it  never  knew  before  :  Giotto  draws  his  perfect 
circle  and  lo !  Italy  is  flooded  with  an  unearthly  ra- 
diance and  Raphael  stands  before  us  as  the  perfect 
painter :  Chaucer  and  Gower  dare  to  test  the  re- 
sources of  their  native  tongue  and  anon  Shake- 
speare wields  a  sceptre  none  has  wrested  from  his 
grasp:  while  still  more  marvelous  is  the  fact  that 
for  2200  years  the  world  has  done  its  utmost  to  im- 
prove upon  the  sculpture  that  was  perfected,  with 
the  most  liberal  estimate  that  can  be  allowed,  in  less 
than  200  years.  We  leap  from  the  ^Eginetan  to  the 
Elgin  Marbles,  but  we  grope  our  way  in  painful  un- 
certainty when  we  once  leave  Scopas  and  Prax- 
iteles. 

A  knowledge  of  this  must  put  a  stop  to  such  inan- 
ities as :  "  Each  generation  improves  upon  the 
past :  "  "  We  must  look  forward  to  a  more  perfect 
Art  than  any  we  have  yet  known."  Each  phase  of 
Art  has  its  own  peculiar  form  and  each  form  has  its 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  303 

limitations.  In  the  germ  the  artist  sees  the  projec- 
tion of  a  plan,  and  this  plan  must  work  its  way  to 
perfection  through  all  the  obstructions  of  individu- 
ality and  personality.  It  is  adherence  to  the  ideal, 
not  of  the  artist  but  of  the  Art  (which  of  course  does 
not  reside  solely  in  the  material  element,  but  in  the 
prevailing  thought  and  feeling  of  the  age  as  well), 
that  converts  an  artistic  attempt  into  a  work  of  Art. 
This  is  the  reason  we  call  the  Purest  Age  of  Art  the 
one  which  is  least  affected  by  personality.  How 
difficult  it  is  to  connect  the  name  of  the  individual 
artist  with  a  great  work  of  Art !  Raphael  is  almost 
as  shadowy  a  figure  as  Phidias.  Who  thinks  of 
Beethoven  when  he  hears  the  "Adelaide?"  Who 
thinks  of  Shakespeare  when  he  sees  or  reads  "  King 
Lear  ?  "  Art,  then,  in  its  maturity  is  not  a  reflection 
of  the  individual  mind,  but  of  the  spirit  of  the  age  ; 
not  the  offspring  of  a  personal  taste,  but  of  a  na- 
tional conviction. 

Sculpture,  from  its  simplicity,  is  the  purest  of  all 
the  Arts,  and  in  Greek  Sculpture  we  have  the  stan- 
dard of  all  pure  Art.  The  true  aim  and  object  of 
Art  never  was  to  give  us  a  faithful  representation  of 
anything  that  we  can  see  or  know  in  real  life.  The 
anthropomorphism  of  the  Greeks  was  ennobled 
through  sculpture,  because  it  afforded  the  most 
intellectual  nation  in  the  annals  of  the  world  an  op- 
portunity to  set  forth  in  visible  form  its  highest 
thoughts,  grandest  aspirations,  and  loftiest  idealiza- 
tions. 


304  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Taine  defines  the  ideal  in  Art  as  the  predomi- 
nance of  the  "  character,"  or  essential  quality  of  the 
object.  In  nature,  he  says,  this  quality  is  only 
dominant ;  it  is  the  aim  of  Art  to  supplement  Nature 
and  make  it  predominant.  Winckelmann  says  Im- 
personality is  the  distinguishing  feature  of  the  ideal 
in  Art.  Lessing  seems  to  think  the  ideal  repre- 
sentation is  that  which  being  richest  in  suggestions 
allows  the  freest  play  to  the  imagination.  In  what- 
ever language  we  express  the  thought  (and  all  lan- 
guage seems  rather  clumsy  at  such  a  time),  I  think 
we  are  all  agreed  that  the  ideal  is  the  expression  of 
something  better,  loftier,  more  perfect  than  any- 
thing we  know  or  experience  in  real  life.  Pure  Art 
deals  with  the  abstract,  rather  than  the  concrete, 
the  simple  rather  than  the  complex.  Undoubtedly 
one  of  the  conditions  of  perfect  sculpture  is  the  ab- 
sence of  any  lively  conception  of  individuality  (or 
complexity)  of  character, — a  condition  at  once  giv- 
ing the  ancients  an  incontestable  superiority  over  us. 

The  resources  of  a  specific  form  are  not  ex- 
hausted, but  their  limit  is  attained  with  astonishing 
rapidity  as  soon  as  those  resources  begin  to  be  ex- 
amined. Not  only  does  true  Art  spring  suddenly 
into  being;  it's  own  period  is  remarkably  short- 
lived. Who  has  not  observed  that  we  have  twenty 
times  as  many  works  belonging  to  the  Decline  as  to 
the  Maturity  of  Art  ?  And  not  only  that,  but  the 
individual  artist  oftens  attains  his  maximum  point 
early  in  his  career,  while  after  that  he  goes  on  for 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART. 


305 


years  producing  inferior  works.  The  purely  sub- 
jective explanation  of  this  is  that  in  his  youth  he 
seeks  to  attain ;  in  middle  life  he  thinks  he  has  at- 
tained. But  surely  a  more  satisfactory  explanation 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  the  youth  of  a  nation 
or  an  individual  one  great  idea  is  more  apt  to  take 
possession  of  the  mind  than  at  any  other  time. 
Now  the  ideal  representation  will  always  be  that  of 
one  great  idea ;  the  emphatic  exposition  of  a 
conception,  of  which  unity,  harmony,  simplicity, 
constitute  the  very  essence.  We  all  know  how  the 
concise  expression  of  a  great  idea  strengthens  its 
effect.  Explanation,  expatiation  is  reiteration,  tau- 
tology, and  this  is  the  death-blow  to  the  grandeur  of 
an  idea. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  purer  Art  is,  the 
more  it  will  address  itself  to  the  thoughtful  few,  the 
less  to  the  thoughtless  many.  The  vulgar  mind 
avers  one  person's  opinion  to  be  as  good  as  an- 
other's on  a  subject  which  is  supposed  to  address 
itself  solely  to  the  sensibilities.  It  is  very  evident 
by  this  time  that  I  do  not  consider  this  a  subject 
addressed  only  to  the  sensibilities.  Here  it  seems 
to  me  lies  one  of  the  grand  distinctions  to  be  made 
between  Mature  and  Declining  Art ;  it  is  the  former 
which  addresses  itself  to  the  judgment,  the  latter  to 
the  sensibilities. 

The  earnest  student  is  convinced,  however  long 
he  may  wander  on  aimlessly,  feeling  that  he  is 
steering  without  a  chart,  a  compass  or  a  goal,  that 
20 


306 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM, 


there  must  be  a  standard  for  Art  outside  of  his  own 
fancy,  and  equally  and  impregnably  protected  from 
the  prepossessions  and  prejudices  of  any  other  indi- 
vidual fancy.  He  cannot  but  see  that  there  are 
certain  periods  in  the  world's  history  when  Art  is 
demanded.  There  are  times  when  its  significance 
will  be  apparent  to  all,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor, 
bond  and  free.  These  are  periods  of  great  mental 
activity,  of  great  political  fermentation,  ardent  re- 
ligious faith  and  excited  feeling.  Then  Art  takes 
the  place  occupied  in  less  exciting  times  by  didactic 
writing.  Not  only  archaic  Art,  but  all  Art  is  sym- 
bolic. It  has  a  sign  language  of  its  own.  And  the 
greatest  discovery  to  which  my  own  work  as  a  stu- 
dent of  Art  has  led  me  is  that  this  sign-language  is 
invariable. 

Schlegel  accomplished  a  splendid  work  for  criti- 
cism when  he  pointed  out  the  entirely  different 
ideals  of  Classical  and  Romantic  (/.<?.,  ancient  and 
modern)  Art ;  that  the  one  is  the  poetry  of  joy,  the 
other  of  desire  ;  the  one  glorying  in  possession,  the 
other  shadowing  forth  the  unattainable.  But  this 
classification  is  misleading  when  we  come  to  con- 
sider the  fundamental  principles  underlying  Art  as 
Art.  These  cannot  be  one  thing  in  a  certain  age 
and  another  in  a  different  age ;  if  so,  Art  has  more 
of  History  and  Psychology  than  of  itself  in  it.  That 
it  must  speak  in  the  vernacular  of  the  age  is  self- 
evident.  It  takes  the  ideas  of  the  age  and  makes 
use  of  them,  and  it  also  expresses  itself  by  means 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  307 

of  different  media,  but  its  own  pure  ideal  is  always 
and  irrevocably  the  same. 

This  unity  of  the  ideal  in  Art  may  not  consist 
wholly  in  the  integrity  of  the  traditions  handed 
down  from  one  generation  to  another.  But  as  it  is 
a  matter  of  fact  that  only  a  few  nations  have  shown 
themselves  capable  of  artistic  perception,  it  would 
seem  unwise  to  ignore  the  possibility  of  such  a  chain 
of  events.  The  apparent  spontaneity  of  the  great 
outbursts  of  Art  has  carried  with  it  such  an  evi- 
dence of  intuitive  perception,  that  lovers  of  Art  (to 
whom  intuition  is  everything)  have  not  been  willing 
to  turn  their  attention  to  the  possibility  of  an  un- 
broken Historical  connection. 

For  myself,  I  cannot  avoid  seeing  as  much  intuition 
in  the  acceptance  of  a  tradition  as  in  the  discovery 
of  a  truth.  At  all  events,  it  seems  to  me  entirely 
too  little  attention  is  ever  given  to  those  breaks  in 
History  which  occur  as  breathing  spaces  in  passing 
from  one  crisis  to  another.  They  are  the  real 
epochs  in  History,  the  connecting  links,  the  indica- 
tQrs,  without  which  nothing  can  be  clearly  under- 
stood. Yet  they  are  hurried  over  in  order  to  reach 
periods  of  culmination,  so  that  the  historian  may 
have  a  better  chance  to  air  his  magniloquence. 

Without  entering  into  the  question  at  length,  and 
because  I  have  opened  this  discussion  with  the  sub- 
ject of  Painting,  let  us  consider  this  point  with 
reference  solely  to  Christian  Art.  Here  it  is  quite 
possible  to  prove  that  a  form  of  Art  does  not  spring, 


308  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Minerva-fashion,  into  being.  We  know  that  as 
early  as  the  Second  Century  of  our  era  there  were 
artists  who  devoted  themselves  to  the  representa- 
tion of  the  great  facts  and  doctrines  of  Christianity. 
This  was  done  in  secret  for  some  time,  in  the  Cata- 
combs. Now  this  Art  was  a  mixture  of  Greco- 
Roman  Art  (a  secular  representation  of  which  was 
going  on  in  Rome  simultaneously)  which  we  all 
know  was  in  the  most  miserable  decadence,  and  of 
the  new  elements  which  had  been  furnished  it  both 
by  the  resources  of  the  material  form  and  the  new 
Ideas  of  the  New  Religion.  The  province  of  Paint- 
ing was  suddenly  discovered  to  be  different  from 
that  of  Sculpture.  This  explains  the  utter  inability 
of  the  ancients  to  make  anything  out  of  Painting. 
It  had  never  been  in  any  other  than  an  archaic 
stage  before  it  was  discovered  through  Christianity 
that  by  this  means  ideas  of  the  ideal  could  be  con- 
veyed and  glorified.  We  can  see  for  ourselves  in 
the  paintings  of  Pompeii  what  that  Art  was  in  its 
voluptuous  decline,  and  this  suspicion — that  the 
Ancients  did  not  understand  the  scope  of  Painting 
— cannot  but  be  verified  by  the  experiment. 

Sculpture  represents  the  impersonal ;  painting 
the  personal.  But  Art  demands  that  Painting  shall 
impersonalize  the  personal,  if  such  a  mode  of 
speech  may  be  permitted.  For  instance,  the  ex- 
pression of  the  human  eye  is  that  of  the  most  in- 
tense personality.  Now  in  Sculpture  the  eye  is 
as  expressionless  as  possible,  for  the  iris  is  without 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART. 


a  pupil,  the  incision  of  the  iris  producing  a  hideous 
material  effect.  But  in  Painting  the  much  severer 
demand  is  made  that  an  exact  representation  of  the 
human  eye  shall  convey  the  expression  not  of  an 
individual  person,  but  of  humanity  in  its  specific 
relations  and  aspects.  Again,  the  true  effect  of 
Sculpture  can  only  be  attained  by  the  solitary  fig- 
ure ;  the  group  is  a  contradiction  in  the  terms  of 
the  Art,  a  mass,  a  conglomeration,  destroying  the 
symmetry,  grace  and  sublimity  of  the  forms.  But  in 
Painting  the  single  work  may  be  crowded  with 
figures,  as  in  Tintoretto's  "  Paradiso,"  Palma 
Giovanni's  "  Last  Judgment,"  and  Raphael's  un- 
rivaled "  School  of  Athens,"  the  laws  of  perspec- 
tive, color  and  chiaroscuro  rendering  each  figure 
independent  of  every  other. 

But  to  return  to  the  Historical  connection.  This 
merely  decorative,  ornamental,  flat,  lifeless  Paint- 
ing of  the  Ancients  could  never  have  been  meta- 
morphosed (there  was  not  enough  vitality  in  it  to 
sustain  it  in  its  own  stage)  had  it  not  been  that  the 
seat  of  government  was  changed  from  Rome  to  old 
Byzantium.  This  old  city,  founded  more  than  nine 
hundred  years  before,  had  never  had  any  Art  of  its 
own.  But  we  should  not  forget  that  it  was  founded 
by  Greeks,  and  that  it  abounded  in  works  of  Art 
brought  from  time  to  time  from  the  Art-centers  of 
Greece.  But  while  Byzantium  was  old,  Constanti- 
nople was  new,  and  this  combination  of  circum- 
stances afforded  the  very  conditions  necessary  to  the 


3io 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


development  of  Painting.  The  dabblers  in  Art  in 
Rome  could  not  pass  from  pagan  to  Christian  Art 
without  carrying  their  corrupted  traditions  with 
them.  But  while  there  were  no  dabblers  in  Con- 
stantinople, the  sacred  traditions  of  Greek  Art  had 
there  been  kept  intact,  and  when  the  demand  for 
the  new  Art  made  itself  felt,  new  artists  could  trans- 
mute the  meaning  of  those  traditions  in  new  forms 
with  an  avidity  which  nothing  but  novelty  can  ex- 
cite. Not  until  we  recognize  the  Byzantine  influence 
in  Painting  do  we  find  that  elevation  of  mind,  that 
religious  tone  of  feeling,  that  true  aesthetic  instinct 
which  led  Homer  to  represent  his  heroes  as  pos- 
sessed of  one  more  than  mortal  attribute,  and  Phidias 
to  carve  the  "  Blue-eyed  Maid  "  in  proportions  of 
colossal  grandeur. 

Any  student  can  trace  for  himself  the  identity  of 
this  ideal  in  Art.  He  will  find  that  of  Athens  in 
her  glory  and  that  of  Mediaeval  Europe  in  her 
confusion  one  and  the  same.  Thus  it  is  evident 
that  in  this  single  instance,  at  least,  the  greatness 
of  Christian  Painting  did  depend  upon  the  integrity 
of  the  traditions  handed  down,  and  Art  revived  in  a 
Greek  city  only  through  the  purity  of  Greek  for- 
mulae. 

One  of  the  most  singular  features  of  this  Art,  and 
one  which  many  in  this  degenerate  age  find  very 
laughable,  is  that  it  was  regulated  by  Law.  This 
was  a  characteristic  of  Greek  Sculpture  in  its  pal- 
miest days,  and  when  we  know  this  it  does  not  seem 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  ^  1 1 

strange  that  it  should  be  a  characteristic  of  Byzan- 
tine Painting  as  controlled  by  the  Greek  Church. 
Another  characteristic  common  to  Hellenic  and 
Byzantine  culture  which,  in  the  case  of  Christian 
Painting,  has  been  assigned  a  totally  different  origin, 
is  the  worship  of  Virginity.  This  is  generally  as- 
cribed to  the  teachings  of  the  Roman  church.  But 
it  came  to  Christendom  from  the  East  and  through 
the  Greek  Church.  And  no  scholar  can  fail  to  rec- 
ognize a  feature  made  so  prominent  in  every  form 
of  Ancient  Religious  Art,  and  especially  of  Greek 
Art,  Even  Euripides,  tossed  about  as  he  is  by 
every  wind  of  doctrine,  is  perfectly  certain  of  his 
reverence  for  "  chaste  Diana,  the  virgin  huntress." 
One  is  utterly  horrified  by  the  wild  fanaticism  which 
has  raged  around  this  standard,  to  which  men  have 
been  so  innocently,  yes  creditably  drawn  by  gener- 
ous longings  for  the  ideal.  For  the  explanation  of 
this  excessive  admiration  of  Virginity  is  nothing 
more  than  that  it  is  possible  to  perceive  purer  sim- 
plicity, more  perfect  unity,  loftier  impersonality, 
greater  abstraction,  greater  "  concentration  in  man- 
ifestation,"— in  a  word,  greater  ideality  in  this  form 
than  in  any  other.  I  suppose  this  to  be  the  mean- 
ing of  the  modern  poet  when,  in  incomparable 
beauty  of  language,  he  bids  us 

"Keep  the  thought  of  life,  like  Mary,  virgin  to  a  virgin's 
heart." 

So  if  you  cannot  pierce  through  the  spectral  ri- 


3 1 2  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

gidity,  the  hard  monotony,  the  formalism  and  con- 
ventionalism of  Byzantine  Painting  and  perceive  the 
noble  dignity,  the  majesty,  the  serenity  in  which 
those  artistic  representations  veil  their  loveliness  in 
order  to  reveal  their  divinity,  you  must  utterly  fail 
to  appreciate  the  significance  of  such  phrases  as  the 
"  Purest  Age  of  Art,"  or  the  "  Decline  of  Art." 

For  you  cannot  have  considered  the  subject 
worthy  of  any  real  thought  unless  you  have  dis- 
covered that  Beauty  is  not,  as  the  man  of  mere  sen- 
sibility supposes,  the  first  requisition  in  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  Beautiful.  Most  writers  make  this  dis- 
tinction by  speaking  of  Moral  Beauty  and  Sensuous 
Beauty.  But  it  is  necessary  to  express  the  distinc- 
tion a  thousand  times  more  emphatically  in  order 
to  convey  a  correct  idea  of  it.  The  passivity,  the 
immobility,  the  awful  quietude  of  the  Jupiter  of  Ot- 
ricoli  or  the  Madonna  of  Cimabue  do  not  especially 
appeal  to  the  moral  sense,  or,  what  is  really  here 
meant,  the  purely  intellectual  nature  ;  we  are 
affected  by  them  through  the  senses  just  as  in  all 
other  Art.  While  on  the  other  hand,  such  things 
as  the  Medicean  Venus,  the  Dying  Gladiator,  the 
Laocoon  in  Sculpture,  and  Crucifixions,  Depositions, 
Noli-me-tangeres,  considered  as  events,  in  Painting — 
none  of  which  appeal  more  to  the  senses  than  the 
intellect — are  excluded  from  the  realm  of  Pure  Art. 
Evidently  all  depends  on  the  answer  to  the  question  : 
How  should  Art  appeal  to  the  intellect  ? 

That  none  of  the  great   Arts  in  the  world  have 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  ^  1 3 

ever  been  entirely  abandoned,  although  there  is  not 
one  in  which  the  world  has  not  already  discerned  a 
perfection  and  a  subsequent  decadence,  is  a  fact 
worthy  of  exciting  the  noblest  curiosity.  It  were 
idle  to  undertake  to  prove  that  mankind  in  general 
gives  the  preference  to  Declining  Art :  the  fact  is 
patent  to  everyone.  But  I  cannot  deny  that  it  does 
strike  me  as  a  strange  thing  that  this  preference, 
so  deep-seated,  so  all-prevailing,  so  ineradicable, 
should  be  passed  over  as  a  superficial  thing,  to  re- 
ceive from  thinkers  of  all  descriptions  nothing  but  a 
sweeping  condemnation.  If  it  were  confined  to  the 
thoughtless,  the  ignorant  and  the  self-sufficient,  such 
a  course  might  be  deemed  justifiable.  But  this  is 
not  by  any  means  the  case.  It  betrays  itself  in 
those  who  ^  try  most  carefully  to  conceal  it.  It 
creeps  out  sometimes  in  admiration  for  a  single 
work,  a  preference,  for  which  the  admirer  feels 
bound  to  apologize  most  humbly.  In  fact  it  is 
quite  as  apparent  in  the  most  intelligent  connoisseurs 
as  in  the  unintelligent  and  uninformed  masses. 
Certainly  there  must  be  some  satisfactory  explana- 
tion of  this  mystery. 

We  have  noticed  the  impulse  given  the  Art  of 
Painting  by  the  traditions  held  sacred  in  Byzantium. 
The  next  fact  which  strikes  our  attention  is  that 
Rome,  not  Constantinople,  is  the  Art-center  of  the 
world.  The  imperial  city  could  not  begin  to  com- 
pete with  the  ecclesiastical  city  in  fostering  and 
developing  the  new  form  of  Art.  For  the  life  in 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


Constantinople  centered  about  an  irresponsible  des- 
potism (extending  even  to  the  Church),  an  old  worn- 
out  experiment,  which  the  world  was  even  then 
rather  tired  of  making  over  again.  But  Rome,  for- 
saken and  abandoned  by  the  great,  found  herself 
in  a  position  to  more  than  compensate  her  for  the 
loss  of  a  worldly  court  and  meddling  statesmen. 
All  the  life  there  concentrated  itself  upon  the  new 
Religious  doctrines,  and  this  concentration  is  one 
of  the  essentials  of  success  in  Art.  At  this  point 
Roman  artists  were  in  a  far  better  position  to  for- 
ward and  perfect  the  plan  originated  and  proposed 
in  Byzantium.  With  consummate  skill  Italy  seized 
upon  the  suggestions  offered  by  the  old  Greek  city. 
The  Byzantine  influence  which  is  so  noticeable  in 
the  solemn  and  majestic  mosaics  in  the  domes  of 
Santa  Maria  Maggiore  in  Rome  and  San  Marco  in 
Venice,  in  the  frescoes  of  Santa  Maria  Novella  in 
Florence  and  the  Campo  Santo  in  Pisa,  ruled  with 
undisputed  sway  all  along  the  ages,  now  succumbing 
beneath  a  lack  of  technical  skill  and  anon  triumph- 
ing over  the  feeblest  efforts  of  the  Artist.  It  is 
this  and  this  only  which  redeems  the  works  of  Or- 
cagna,  Buffamalco,  Simone  Memmi,  the  Gaddi, 
Fiesole,  Luini,  etc.,  from  the  charge  of  grotesqueness, 
profanity  and  positive  ugliness.  In  all  of  this  Art 
we  have  the  subordination  of  expression  to  thought. 
But  what  is  so  magnificent  in  this  period  of  devel- 
opment is  the  assurance  which  each  work  gives  of  a 
possible  perfect  counterpoise  of  thought  and  ex- 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  ^  I  5 

pression.  To  the  thinker  thought  is  more  than  ex- 
pression. 

Technical  skill  rapidly  advanced  among  the  Art- 
loving  Italians,  and  the  transition  into  the  realm  of 
Pure  Art,  is,  as  usual,  so  gradual  that  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  assign  any  particular  works  or  time  to  it. 
Only  one  thing  more  have  I  to  insist  upon  with  re- 
gard to  the  Greek  ideal, — the  acknowledged  fact 
that  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto,  the  greatest  work 
of  the  greatest  painter  that  ever  lived,  is  the  climax 
of  this  ideal  in  the  Art  of  Painting.  The  gloriously 
beautiful,  tender,  dark-eyed  woman 

"  Whose   virgin  bosom  was  uncrost 
With  the  least  shade  of  thought  to  sin  allied," 

is  on  the  canvas  of  Raphael  a  pure  abstraction. 
The  only  respect  in  which  this  differs  from  the  per- 
fect ideal  of  Greek  Sculpture  is  that  in  the  latter 
we  find  an  abstract  of  but  one  attribute  of  perfect 
character ;  while  this  is  an  abstract  of  all. 

It  is  not  in  human  nature  to  rest  satisfied  with 
man's  expression  of  the  perfect.  Of  course  the  age 
itself  does  not  know  when  it  has  attained  its  maxi- 
mum point.  From  the  existence  of  all  the  forces 
gathered  together  for  the  attainment  of  the  perfect 
it  is  not  possible  that  there  should  be  a  sudden  ces- 
sation of  Art :  hence  the  long-continued,  long-un- 
recognized decline.  Moreover,  the  ideal  in  Art  is 
rather  the  negative  expression  of  perfect  character 
than  anything  like  a  positive  illustration  of  it. 


316  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Looking  closely  at  the  works  of  the  great  masters 
we  shall  find  that  they  do  not  dare  to  touch  upon 
anything  so  perilous  as  the  positive  expression  of 
personality.  But  the  world  can  never  be  subdued 
into  saying  that  it  does  not  like  this  expression,  for, 
the  truth  is,  it  delights  in  it.  It  does  not  care  for 
the  perfect  work  as  much  as  for  the  mind  behind 
that  work.  It  is  not  the  impression  to  be  produced 
upon  the  beholder,  it  is  the  manner  in  which  the  ar- 
tist is  himself  affected  by  his  subject  that  the  world 
wants  to  find  out.  The  thoughtful  few  who  under- 
stand the  secret  of  Pure  Art  keep  telling  us  that 
Shakespeare's  glory  consists  in  that  impenetrable 
impersonality  which  makes  it  impossible  to  discover 
through  one  of  the  numerous  characters  divined  by 
his  genius  and  drawn  by  his  pen  the  one  thing  we 
want  so  much  to  know — the  character  of  the  indi- 
vidual Shakespeare.  And  there  is  no  use  talking 
about  it,  the  world  cannot,  and  does  not,  and  will 
not  take  to  its  heart  the  genius  that  depicts  that 
horrid  Falstaff  with  the  same  inimitable  power  and 
skill  as  it  does  the  noble  Cordelia  or  the  grave  and 
troubled  Hamlet. 

Yes :  it  is  hazardous  to  praise  :  very  perilous  to 
condemn.  But  this  peril  has  a  charm.  For  in  re- 
peated attempts,  some  degrading  the  subject  be- 
neath contempt,  some  elevating  it  above  compre- 
hension, a  happy  mean  will  inevitably  be  struck,  and 
then  will  come  forth  one  of  those  works  which 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART. 


317 


baffle  all  criticism,  but  take  the  heart  by  storm  and 
refuse  to  have  their  witchery  questioned. 

Michael  Angelo  is  the  great  Master  of  Declining 
Art.  His  failures  are  more  interesting  to  mankind 
than  the  successes  of  other  artists.  The  intense  in- 
dividuality of  his  genius  could  not  be  fettered  by  the 
laws  and  principles  which  hedge  in  perfect  Art. 
He  did  not  care  for  Beauty  ;  he  did  not  care  for 
form.  One  can  scarcely  believe  that  the  marble 
which  is  seamed  and  saddened  by  the  touch  of  his 
impetuous  chisel  was  once  serene  and  shapeless. 
The  world  feels  that  the  great  inaugurator  of  De- 
clining Art  erred  not  through  weakness,  but  through 
the  strength  of  powers  which  are  incompatible  with 
our  earthly  and  material  means  of  expression  ;  and 
when  it  wants  to  characterize  an  enthusiasm  of  self- 
abandonment  which  issues  in  the  unreserved  com- 
munication of  the  whole  being,  the  unveiling  of  the 
whole  soul  in  actual  labor,  it  can  call  it  nothing  less 
than  Michaelangelesque. 

Admirers  of  Fourteenth  Century  Art  and  pro- 
found critics,  you  will  observe,  do  not  expatiate 
upon  the  Renaissance ;  not  recognizing  any  such 
event  in  the  History  of  Art.  The  great  classical 
revival  which  followed  upon  the  fall  of  Constanti- 
nople in  1452,  entailing  a  new  development  upon 
Painting  and  the  fusion  of  ideas  so  utterly  opposed 
to  each  other  as  those  of  Grecian  hedonism  and 
Romish  asceticism,  is  bewailed  and  deplored  by 
them  as  constituting  the  death-blow  of  Pure  Art. 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


This  impulse  was,  indeed,  very  unlike  that  which 
Byzantium  had  furnished  in  the  4th  and  5th  cent- 
uries. It  was  not  a  suggestion,  not  the  "  motiv  " 
of  a  new  inspiration  :  it  was  the  ingrafting  of  the 
whole  body  of  Ancient  Philosophy  upon  Medi- 
aevalism.  "  The  genius  of  the  Renaissance,"  says 
a  modern  novelist,  "abandoned  itself  without 
reserve  to  the  pursuit  of  everything  which  mankind 
had  ever  known  of  the  beautiful,  or  felt  of  the 
pathetic  or  the  sad,  or  dreamed  of  the  noble  or  the 
ideal."  Not  only  was  this  genius  not  afraid  to 
predicate  ;  it  knew  no  limits  to  the  wild  excesses  of 
its  license.  Themes  which  the  reverent  mind  of 
former  ages  had  shrunk  from  dwelling  upon  were 
now  reveled  in  for  the  sake  of  technical  effect,  and 
the  hand  which  had  traced  the  features  of  the 
Divine  Sufferer  lent  itself  to  the  portrayal  of  mere 
meretricious  earthly  charms. 

The  apotheosis  of  suffering,  as  in  Monastic  and 
Martyrological  Art  is  the  commission  of  a  sacrilege 
towards  Art.  Yet  so  intense,  so  morbid,  so  excited 
were  the  feelings  of  this  age,  that  sorrow  itself  was 
avowed  to  be  a  delicious  luxury,  an  indulgence 
reserved  only  for  the  favored  few.  But  out  in  the 
world,  above  all  other  homages  that  to  Beauty 
reigned  supreme.  Everything  was  sacrificed  to  the 
Beautiful,  which  is,  again,  from  another  point  of 
view,  on  the  other  side — the  spiritual  side  of  Art — 
a  sacrilege. 

With  the  sudden  accumulation  of  the  wealth  of 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART. 


ideas  inherent  in  Pagan  Art,  unsurpassed  technical 
skill  and  the  yet  undeveloped  resources  of  the  Gos- 
pel Narrative,  the  genius  of  the  age  seemed  to 
shake  off  every  trammel,  every  check,  and  never 
before,  as  never  again,  in  the  history  of  the  human 
mind  is  Immortal  Truth  so  inextricably  woven  with 
splendid  error. 

That  beauty  of  form  triumphs  over  dignity  of 
thought  in  this  great  Decline  is  not  an  objection  to 
the  ordinary  mind.  It  is  in  vain  that  the  student 
is  armed  beforehand  with  every  kind  of  panoply 
with  which  the  disciplinarian  can  provide  him. 
When  once  in  the  gorgeous  Palaces  of  Europe, 
should  he  have  one  atom  of  spontaneous  admiration 
left  him,  he  will  turn  to  the  magnificent  works  of 
Domenichino,  Titian,  Tintoretto,  the  Caracci, 
Guido,  Guercino,  Garofalo,  Rubens,  the  Caravaggi, 
Carlo  Dolce,  and  so  on  even  with  the  lesser  lights 
of  the  Decline,  with  a  zest  and  an  ardor  which 
nothing  else  in  Art  will  ever  arouse. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  examine  the  Paint- 
ings in  two  Modern  Greek  Churches,  —  the  one  near 
Wiesbaden,  in  the  Duchy  of  Nassau,  and  one  of 
those  in  Geneva.  I  was  much  interested  in  these 
Russian  Paintings,  for  such  I  judged  them  to  be, 
though  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  whether  they 
were  originals  or  copies.  The  Byzantine  treat- 
ment was  easily  recognized.  But  the  curious  feat- 
ure of  this  treatment  was  that  it  dealt  in  expression 
rather  than  in  idea,  It  was  just  as  if  the  Madonna 


320 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


of  Cimabue  had  been  painted  with  all  the  softness 
and  sweetness  of  a  Guido,  being  at  the  same  time 
totally  devoid  of  the  loftiness  of  sentiment,  the 
dignity  and  the  elevation  of  mind  that  character- 
ized the  Byzantine  School  in  Italy. 

Now  this  has  thrown  much  light  for  me  on  the 
true  nature  of  the  Italian  Renaissance.  The  point 
of  excellence  that  had  been  reached  had  taught  its 
lessons.  Pure  Art  had  spoken  of  the  great  Truths 
which  underlie  all  existence.  It  remained  for  the 
genius  of  the  modern  world  to  apply  those  Truths. 
That  there  is  danger  in  this  individual  application  of 
Truth  no  one  can  deny.  But  if  there  is  reprobation 
for  those  who  err  in  this  difficult  path,  just  so  much 
the  more  is  there  praise  for  those  who  act  aright. 
It  is  in  Art,  and  only  in  connection  with  Art,  i.e. 
the  appeal  to  the  perception  of.  the  Beautiful,  that 
man,  acting  either  through  the  force  of  native 
genius  or  as  the  agent  of  Divine  Inspiration,  has 
ever  set  forth  ideas  of  a  perfection  belonging  not 
to  this  earth.  But  this  perfection  is  ours  only 
through  hope.  The  mind  is  exalted,  purified,  and 
ennobled  by  such  contemplations,  but  the  heart  is 
moved  only  by  that  which  excites  compassion  for 
the  sinful  and  sympathy  with  the  suffering. 

Declining  Art  dares,  as  we  have  seen,  to  speak 
of  suffering.  Burke  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that 
in  the  representation  or  recital  of  suffering  the 
human  mind  experiences  a  pleasure  which  no 
grandeur,  no  prosperity  can  effect,  This  may  be, 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  32 1 

as  he  says,  because  we  sympathize  with  the  un- 
fortunate, and  "  pity  is  a  passion  accompanied  with 
pleasure  because  it  arises  from  love  and  social 
affection,"  such  an  implanted  instinct  enabling  us 
to  hasten  without  repugnance  to  the  relief  of  suffer- 
ing. This  may  receive  our  assent,  and  yet  it  is  far 
from  satisfying  me.  Why  should  thoughts  of  un- 
happiness,  of  pain,  of  sorrow,  fill  us  with  an  inde- 
scribable, yet,  awful,  pleasure  ?  I  believe  it  is 
because  we  thus  obtain  a  much  clearer  or  more 
vivid  view  of  the  real  greatness,  the  true  dignity  of 
our  being.  No  positive  pleasure,  be  it  sweeter  than 
honey  and  the  honeycomb,  can  awaken  in  us  the 
depth  of  emotion,  the  endless  questioning,  the  per- 
sistent introspection  occasioned  by  a  single  thought 
of  pain.  Whatever  may  be  the  destiny  of  other 
existences,  that  of  man  centers  about  suffering : 
and  the  artist  who  succeeds  in  portraying  through 
the  form  of  the  Beautiful  his  own  individual,  special 
ideas  and  experiences  of  this  great  experience 
which  binds  the  greatest  to  the  least  will  ever  wield 
a  power  which  is  sublime. 

The  world  is  drawn  to  the  productions  of  Declin- 
ing Art  through  congeniality  or  natural  affinity. 
There  are  thrones  and  dominions,  principalities  and 
powers  even  on  earth.  And  it  is  nothing  but  gross 
affectation  in  the  many  to  pretend  that  they  are 
more  in  sympathy  with  the  loftiest  minds  than  with 
those  of  mediocre  power.  The  greatest  works  in 
the  world  are  admired  by  proxy.  Your  favorite 

21 


322 


STUDIES  TN  CRITICISM. 


author  whose  explanations  you  can  understand  and 
follow  admires  them  and  therefore  you  believe 
there  is  something  in  them  to  admire.  Through 
native  dulness,  indolence,  sensual  and  material 
inclination,  the  mass  of  mankind  are  excluded  from 
admiration  of  the  greatest  works.  Emerson  tells  us 
that  there  are  never  in  the  world  more  than  a  dozen 
persons  who  can  read  and  understand  Plato.  With 
very  little  variation  this  may  be  said  of  all  of  the 
few  great  productions  which  have  remained  as 
much  in  advance  of  the  succeeding  ages  as  they 
were  in  advance  of  the  age  in  which  they  were  pro- 
duced. 

One  would  think  that  a  vulgar  curiosity  would 
tempt  the  people  who  all  their  lives  read  about  the 
masterpieces  of  Literature  to  seek  at  least  an  oc- 
casional opportunity  to  peep  into  the  mysterious 
volumes  and  test  for  themselves  the  power  of  their 
charm.  But  no  :  it  is  simply  a  fact  that  the  great 
mass  of  English  readers  are  unfamiliar  with  the 
works  of  the  first  English  authors,  while  they  ought 
not  only  to  have  attained  this  familiarity,  but  also 
to  be  able  to  read  in  their  own  languages  the  great 
works  of  the  modern  Europeans.  If  this  from  the 
the  negligence  of  preceptors,  the  importunities  of 
officious  friends  and  the  hardships  incident  to  life 
itself  is  proved  to  be  impossible,  the  mastery  of 
one  foreign  language  will  furnish  a  key  to  all 
methods  and  modes  of  translation  as  an  Art  in 
itself,  and  there  are  magnificent  translations,  not 


THE  DECLINE  OF  A A>7\  333 

only  of  the  moderns,  but  of  the  ancients,  which  are 
waiting  to  be  read. 

.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  cant  greater  than 
that  in  regard  to  Literature.  The  world  can  never 
estimate  the  debt  it  owes  to  second  class  Literature. 
Yet  it  is  basely  afraid  to  acknowledge  that  debt,' hyp- 
ocritically desiring  to  convey  the  impression  that 
such  Literature  comes  to  it  in  spite  of  its  protest, 
calling  off  its  attention  from  the  great  productions. 
These  are  those  who  intend  to  excuse  themselves 
from  making  any  mental  effort.  Knowing  that 
there  are  all  degrees  and  grades  of  ability,  and 
recognizing  the  fact  that  painful  exertion  might 
enable  them  to  produce  or  perform  something  cred- 
itable, they  find  their  only  refuge  in  berating  and 
maligning  the  efforts  of  those  who  being  nearest 
to  them  in  native  endowment  are  so  immeasurably 
superior  to  them  in  character  and  elevation  of 
thought.  But  to  those  who,  by  dint  of  every  effort, 
humbly  and  patiently  strive  to  understand  the 
works  of  the  great  masters,  every  attempt  to  express 
a  noble  thought  in  permanent  forms  is  sacred. 
Why  should  we  see  through  another's  eyes,  and 
feel  through  another's  heart  ?  Why  not  trust  our 
own  eyes  and  our  own  heart?  This  false  humility 
is  cowardly  and  degrading.  I  rejoice  in  avowing 
that  some  of  the  most  cheering,  consoling,  elevating 
thoughts,  some  of  the  noblest  sentiments,  some  of 
the  purest  aspirations  of  my  life  have  come  to  me 
through  books  and  music  and  pictures  of  which  the 


324 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


critics  know  absolutely  nothing,  or  which,  if  knowing, 
they  have  buried  beneath  the  weight  of  their  con- 
tempt. 

So  far  from  discouraging  the  continuance  of  those 
Arts  which  have  attained  their  climax  and  inaugu- 
rated their  Decline,  every  effort  of  every  creature 
who  can  think  and  feel  should  be  made  to  afford 
them  the  widest  possible  sphere  of  action.  When 
we  remember  that  the  History  of  the  world  is,  after 
all,  as  some  one  has  said,  only  the  History  of  a  few 
great  Characters,  and  when  we  reflect  that  we  can 
never  know  the  value  of  the  most  ethereal  influence 
which  enters  into  the  formation  of  character,  we 
shall,  we  must  desire  the  fullest  possible  expression 
of  all  that  is  in  the  human  soul,  waiving  of  course, 
as  I  have  said  elsewhere,  the  possibility  that  genuine 
Art  can  ever  be  enslaved  in  the  service  of  immor- 
ality. 

The  highest  Art  addresses  itself  only  to  those 
who,  rising  superior  to  the  annoyances  and  vexations 
of  daily  life,  preserve  an  imperturbable  serenity  of 
spirit ;  to  those  who,  freed  from  self-inflicted  or 
superimposed  cares  and  responsibilities,  live  in  an 
atmosphere  of  intellectual  tranquility.  But  these, 
from  the  pressing  necessities  of  life,  the  despotism 
of  conventionalism  or  false  ideas  of  duty,  must  ever 
be  the  few.  The  many  are  distressed,  burdened, 
wearied  in  the  race  of  life.  Hence  they  are  crea- 
tures of  moods.  But  if,  as  a  keen  thinker  of  our 
own  day  tells  us, 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART. 

"  'Tis  the  privilege  of  Art 

Thus  to  play  its  cheerful  part, 

Man  in  earth  to  acclimate, 

And  bend  the  exile  to  his  fate — " 

never  will  this  privilege  be  more  beneficently  exer- 
cised than  when  Art  condescends  to  address  itself 
to  these  moods.  Then  we  have  the  weird,  morbid, 
lonely,  yet  passionately  inspired  landscapes  of 
Ruysdale,  of  which  it  is  said  :  "  it  is  impossible  to 
contemplate  them  and  not  feel  a  divine  melancholy 
creep  over  the  soul."  In  response  to  this  appeal 
Gustave  Dore  deems  no  image  that  can  be  evoked 
through  language  beyond  the  skill  and  frenzy  of 
the  painter's  brush.  In  obedience  to  such  sugges- 
tions the  gifted  Blake  challenges  the  world  to  de- 
clare whether  he  is  mad  or  inspired ;  Haydon, 
England's  great  Historical  painter,  pleads  with  the 
prescience  of  genius  to  be  permitted  to  do  for  Eng- 
land the  work  that  Ary  Scheffer,  Horace  Vernet, 
Delaroche,  David,  Lebrun,  etc.,  etc.,  so  magnifi- 
cently accomplished  for  France ;  Chopin  sounds 
and  fathoms  the  capabilities  of  music  to  portray  the 
sensitiveness  of  the  most  sensitive  soul  as  it  strug- 
gles with  the  pain  that  lifts  the  heart  above  all  joy, 
or  with  the  rapture  that  is  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  a  thrilling  pain ;  and  Antoine  Wiertz  (with  a 
rashness  in  which  I  confess  I  find  an  inexhaustible 
charm)  defies  all  the  laws  of  all  the  Arts  in  depict- 
ing with  the  utmost  extravagance  that  can  be  im- 
agined the  contrasts  and  conflicts  of  human  emotion. 


326  STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 

Indeed  I  venture  to  think  that  Rubens  himself, 
leading  in  his  train  the  whole  Flemish  school,  can 
only  be  understood  by  those  who  experience  an  ex- 
cessive ebb  and  flow  of  feeling. 

From  the  increasing  and  conflicting  demands  of 
modern  civilization  (demanding  character,  will, 
action  from  the  least  and  lowest  of  mankind,  in 
opposition  to  the  old  civilization  which  permitted 
the  many  to  live  an  animal  existence)  the  burden 
of  duty  must  press  with  heavier  force  upon  every 
life  and,  invading  the  tranquility  of  the  loftiest 
natures,  cause  everyone  to  be,  to  an  extent,  the 
victim  of  moods.  It  is  this  which  renders  the 
modern  studio  a  sanctum  of  intense  interest.  The 
plot  of  life  thickens,  the  divination  of  the  seer  pro- 
gresses, the  self-projection  of  the  artist  culminates, 
and  at  any  moment  the  tourist,  the  student,  or  the 
lover  of  Art  may  come  upon  the  work  which  lays 
his  whole  soul  bare,  the  work  which  speaks  to  him 
as  he  feels  it  can  speak  to  no  other ;  and  in  this 
realm  of  the  Beautiful,  in  the  sphere  of  avowed 
consecration  to  all  that  is  lofty  and  noble,  hc5  too, 
though  the  least  worthy,  may  meet  the  heart  which 
"  though  unknown,  responds  unto  his  own." 

Closer  study  will  reveal  this  self-justification  in 
each  of  the  provinces  of  Declining  Art.  One  visit 
to  Versailles  will  do  more  to  establish  the  claims  of 
Historical  Painting  than  all  the  arguments  in  the 
world.  Of  Landscape  Painting,  Humboldt  says : 
"  The  grand  conceptions  which  this  noble  Art  as  a 


THE  DECLINE  OF  ART.  327 

more  or  less  inspired  branch  of  the  poetry  of  nature 
owes  to  the  creative  power  of  the  mind,  are,  like 
man  himself  and  the  imaginative  faculties  with 
which  he  is  endowed,  independent  of  place."  The 
portrayal  of  animal  life  needs  no  vindicators  since 
Rosa  Bonheur  and  Edwin  Landseer  have  chal- 
lenged us  to  choose  between  that  characterization 
in  which  human  sympathy  represents  animal  life  as 
it  is  in  its  own  strength  and  nobility,  and  that  char- 
acterization which  shows  us  animal  life  in  its  ideal- 
ity, its  sympathy  with  human  joys  and  sorrows. 
The  genre  painting  which  Louis  XIV.  once  thought 
beneath  his  notice  has  in  its  exquisite  coloring, 
exactness  and  truthfulness  of  detail  awakened  an 
interest  in  the  Dutch  which  all  their  immortal 
patriotism  might  have  failed  to  excite.  Had  the 
modern  Germans  believed  the  field  of  sacred  Art 
exhausted  we  should  never  have  had  the  lovely 
Nativities,  Ascensions,  Annunciations,  etc.,  of  Cor- 
nelius, Overbeck,  Schnorr,  Kaulbach  and  Schadow. 
And  now  that  we  have  seen  the  wonderful  Mun- 
kacsy's  "  Christ  before  Pilate,"  we  know  that  the 
solitary  artist  need  not  fear,  even  yet,  to  test  the 
power  of  the  immortal  themes.  Munkacsy  has, 
indeed,  revealed  to  us  a  depth  of  moral  grandeur  in 
the  simple,  unvarnished  Historical  Fact  of  the  Gos- 
pel story  which  outweighs  the  devotional  element  in 
the  Italian  works  and  the  tragic  interest  of  the 
Flemish  and  Dutch  Schools. 

But  by  a  paradox  which  may  not  be  apparent  to 


328 


STUDIES  IN  CRITICISM. 


us  at  first,  only  those  who  have  made  a  patient  and 
sincere  study  of  the  principles  of  Pure  Art  can  per- 
ceive the  true  justification  in  Declining  Art.  There 
is  something  so  noble,  so  generous  in  true  admira- 
tion that  we  ought  to  begin  to  suspect  the  reality  of 
any  praise  which  involves  the  disparagement  of 
something  unlike  the  object  praised.  Taste  may 
strike  deeper  roots  into  character  than  we  have  as 
yet  believed.  Its  enlargement  may  involve  that  of 
the  mind,  the  heart,  the  soul  itself.  The  acknowl- 
edgment of  one  unchangeable,  inflexible  standard 
of  perfection  does  not  hinder,  but  furthers  the  rec- 
ognition of  each  special  manifestation  of  that  per- 
fection. In  cultivating  universality  of  taste  upon 
this  true  and  only  foundation,  happy  is  the  person 
who  realizes  that  he  is  allied  to  that  which  he 
admires,  and  then  has  reason  to  rejoice  in  all  that 
excites  his  own  special  admiration  :  or,  in  words  of 
more  than  human  wisdom,  "  Happy  is  he  who  con- 
demneth  not  himself  in  that  thing  which  he  allow- 
eth." 


899710 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRA 


.1   •••. .-.".  •  •-."-,  "f  t.  -•<• 

YC1S1474 


